French Hobbies and Free Time: A Beginner’s Guide

When you start learning French, one of the most natural topics to explore is what people do in their free time. Les loisirs (leisure activities) are a central part of French culture and everyday conversation. Understanding this topic helps you connect with French speakers and talk about your own life.

Simple Examples to Get Started

Here are a few everyday sentences using leisure vocabulary:

• J’aime lire. — I like reading.
• Il joue au football. — He plays football.
• Nous regardons des films. — We watch movies.
• Elle fait de la musique. — She plays music.

As you can see, talking about hobbies in French is simple and very practical from the very beginning.

Les éléments des loisirs en français

Leisure activities in French can be grouped into several categories. Let us look at the main ones.

Sports et activités physiques (Sports and Physical Activities)

Sport is a big part of French life. Here are common expressions:

• jouer au tennis — to play tennis
• faire du vélo — to go cycling
• nager — to swim
• courir — to run

Notice that French uses two different verbs for sports: jouer à (to play) for team or competitive sports, and faire de (to do) for individual activities.

English	French	Verb used
to play football	jouer au football	jouer à
to play basketball	jouer au basket	jouer à
to go hiking	faire de la randonnée	faire de
to do yoga	faire du yoga	faire de

Activités culturelles (Cultural Activities)

French culture places great importance on arts and culture. Here are popular leisure activities in this area:

• aller au cinéma — to go to the cinema
• visiter un musée — to visit a museum
• lire un livre — to read a book
• écouter de la musique — to listen to music

These activities are very common in daily conversation. You will hear them often when meeting French people.

Loisirs à la maison (Home Leisure)

Not all hobbies happen outside. Many people enjoy activities at home:

• cuisiner — to cook
• jouer aux jeux vidéo — to play video games
• regarder la télévision — to watch television
• jardiner — to garden

Pourquoi les loisirs en français sont importants

Talking about hobbies is one of the first things you do when you meet someone new. In French, this topic comes up very quickly in conversations. If you can say what you like to do, you can already have a real exchange with a French speaker.

It also helps you learn useful grammar. For example, you practice verb conjugation, the use of articles, and basic sentence structure — all through natural and meaningful sentences.

Finally, hobbies are a window into French culture. Knowing that French people love la pétanque, cycling, or visiting museums helps you understand the country and its people better.

Comparaison avec d’autres langues

It is helpful to compare French with English and Spanish to understand the structure better.

English	French	Spanish
I like reading.	J’aime lire.	Me gusta leer.
He plays tennis.	Il joue au tennis.	Él juega al tenis.
She does yoga.	Elle fait du yoga.	Ella hace yoga.
We watch films.	Nous regardons des films.	Vemos películas.

You can see that French and Spanish are quite close in structure. English is sometimes simpler, but the ideas are the same. The main difference in French is the use of jouer à and faire de, which does not exist in English.

Exemple complet

Here is a short dialogue between two people meeting for the first time. It uses leisure vocabulary in a natural way.

Marie: Bonjour ! Tu aimes le sport ? — Hello! Do you like sport?

Lucas: Oui, j’aime faire du vélo et jouer au tennis. Et toi ? — Yes, I like cycling and playing tennis. And you?

Marie: Moi, je préfère lire et écouter de la musique. — I prefer reading and listening to music.

Lucas: Super ! Tu aimes quel genre de musique ? — Great! What kind of music do you like?

This short conversation shows how naturally you can use leisure vocabulary in real life. The sentences are short, clear, and easy to remember.

Points à retenir

• Les loisirs means leisure activities in French.
• Use jouer à for competitive or team sports (football, tennis…).
• Use faire de for individual activities (yoga, cycling, hiking…).
• Hobbies are one of the first topics in any French conversation.
• Comparing French with English and Spanish helps you understand patterns faster.
• Start with simple verbs: aimer, faire, jouer, regarder, écouter.

Sources

• Conseil de l’Europe. (2001). Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECRL). Council of Europe Publishing. www.coe.int
• Larousse. Dictionnaire français en ligne. www.larousse.fr
• TV5Monde. Apprendre le français — Ressources pédagogiques. apprendre.tv5monde.com