Hobbies and free time Fräizäit a Spaass
Talk about what you do in your free time: sport, music, films and walks. Say what you like and what you prefer, and invite someone to join you or to a party.
By the end of this lesson you can
- Name sports and free-time activities.
- Say what you like and what you prefer.
- Invite someone to join you.
- Talk about a party, a birthday and an invitation.
26 words and phrases
- de Sport
- sport
- de Fussball
- football
- d'Musek
- music
- de Kino
- cinema
- den Theater
- theatre
- d'Fräizäit
- free time
- gär
- gladly, with pleasure Net gär means not liking to do something.
- léiwer
- rather, preferably
- danzen
- to dance
- sangen
- to sing
- schwammen
- to swim
- wanderen
- to hike
- spadséieren
- to go for a walk
- joggen
- to jog
- d'Gittar
- guitar Plural: d'Gittaren.
- de Film
- film
- d'Party
- party Plural: d'Partyen.
- feieren
- to celebrate, to party
- invitéieren
- to invite
- d'Invitatioun
- invitation Plural: d'Invitatiounen.
- de Spaass
- fun Spaass maachen means to be fun.
- d'Baach
- stream
- gären
- gladly, with pleasure
- d'Zeitung
- newspaper
- stonnelaang
- for hours
- d'Suerg
- worry
Grammar
Liking and preferring: gär and léiwer
Gär goes in the middle of the sentence and says you like doing it: hu mir gär … gespillt. Net gär says you do not. Léiwer says what you prefer, and ewéi (than) names the other thing: léiwer … ewéi …
You will also meet the form gären: Beim Kaffi liesen ech gären d'Zeitung.
- Als Kanner hu mir gär an der Baach gespillt. — As children we liked playing in the stream.
- Dat hunn ech net gär gemaach! — I did not like doing that!
- Beim Kaffi liesen ech gären d'Zeitung. — With my coffee I like reading the newspaper.
- Ech gi léiwer an de Kino ewéi an den Theater. — I prefer going to the cinema to going to the theatre.
Playing and going
A sport after spillen has no article: Fussball spillen, Tennis spillen. An instrument takes op and the dative: op senger Gittar.
To go and do something, use goen with the infinitive: mir ginn spadséieren, we go for a walk. To go to a place, use an and the article: an de Kino, an de Bësch.
- D'Jonge spillen de ganzen Dag Fussball. — The boys play football all day.
- Mäi Bouf spillt Tennis a mäi Meedche Fussball. — My son plays tennis and my daughter football.
- Eist Meedche spillt stonnelaang op senger Gittar. — Our girl plays her guitar for hours.
- Mir ginn all Sonndeg an de Bësch spadséieren. — Every Sunday we go for a walk in the woods.
Inviting someone
To ask someone along, start the question with the verb: Gees de mat …? Do you come too? In speech du shortens to de after the verb. To suggest something, use solle mer: Solle mer … fuere fir ze joggen?
For a party you invite someone: ech invitéieren, and the invitation is eng Invitatioun.
- Gees de mat op de Fussball? — Are you coming along to the football?
- Gees de am Summer mat an d'Bierger wanderen? — Are you coming hiking in the mountains this summer?
- Solle mer an de Bësch fuere fir ze joggen? — Shall we drive to the woods to go jogging?
- Ech hunn zwanzeg Leit op mäi Gebuertsdag invitéiert. — I invited twenty people to my birthday.
- Denk net un deng Suergen, haut gëtt gefeiert! — Do not think about your worries, today we celebrate!
Practice
14 exercises: multiple choice, typing, matching pairs and word order.