Mastering Sports and Hobbies Vocabulary in German
Boost your German with essential sports and hobbies vocabulary!
Here is a comprehensive list of common sports and hobbies vocabulary in German:
Sports Vocabulary
- Sport treiben — to do sports
- Fußball spielen — to play soccer
- Basketball spielen — to play basketball
- Tennis spielen — to play tennis
- Golf spielen — to play golf
- Volleyball spielen — to play volleyball
- Eishockey spielen — to play ice hockey
- Schwimmen gehen — to go swimming
- Joggen — jogging
- Radfahren — bicycling/cycling
- Wandern — hiking
- Klettern — climbing
- Ski fahren — skiing
- Turnen — gymnastics
- Boxen — boxing
- Reiten — horseback riding
- Segeln — sailing
- Angeln — fishing
- Windsurfing gehen — windsurfing
Hobbies Vocabulary
- Musik hören — to listen to music
- Karten spielen — to play cards
- Videospiele spielen — to play video games
- Fotografieren — photography
- Basteln — to tinker/build things
- Stricken — knitting
- Töpfern — to do ceramics/pottery
- Zeichnen — drawing
- Schach spielen — to play chess
- Faulenzen — to lie around, be lazy
- Im Garten arbeiten — gardening
- Ins Kino gehen — to go to the movies
- Lesen — reading
Notes on usage
- Many sports and hobby words exist both as nouns and verbs in German.
- When capitalized, they are nouns (e.g., das Schwimmen = swimming as a noun).
- When lowercase, they are verbs (e.g., schwimmen = to swim).
- Common verbs used in sports include spielen (to play), laufen (to run), springen (to jump), schwimmen (to swim), and fahren (to ride or drive).
- For example, “Ich spiele Fußball” means “I play soccer,” and “Ich gehe angeln” means “I go fishing.”
This vocabulary will help discuss favorite activities and interests in German and is widely used in everyday conversations about sports and hobbies.