Vocabulary Module 10: Hobby
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about hobbies (das Hobby – die Hobbys) and leisure (die Freizeit) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about their hobbies. Go to the DWDS homepage and type Hobby in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section.
The word cloud above shows words that commonly occur with the word Hobby. They are called collocates of Hobby. The larger the word is in the cloud, the more frequently it co-occurs with Hobby. You can also see a numerical representation of the frequency of co-occurrence by looking at the Überblick table for Hobby accessible through the Detailliertere Informationen link above the word cloud.
Activity 1
A.
Look at the list of some favorite hobbies listed in this word cloud and match them with their English equivalents. If needed, you can consult the online dictionary LEO.
B.
You probably noticed that some words in the word cloud for Hobby are adjectives. Can you match some of them with their English equivalents? First read the example sentences for each adjective used with Hobby. If needed, you can consult the online dictionary LEO. Note the spelling of the plural form Hobbys (vs. the English ‘hobbies’).
- Aber daneben zählt auch der Lebenslauf: längere Auslandsaufenthalte, exotische Sprachkenntnisse, ausgefallene Hobbys.
Die Zeit, 31.01.2011, Nr. 05 - Aber genau wie bei den schulfreien Samstagen kommt die Freizeit vor allem den Familien zugute, die sich kostspielige Hobbys leisten können.
Die Zeit, 20.02.2008, Nr. 09 - Sie haben keine teuren Hobbys, gehen nicht ins Kino oder Theater, auf Konzerte oder zum Fußball ins Stadion.
Die Zeit, 30.04.2013, Nr. 14 - Wenn jemand ein ungewöhnliches Hobby hat oder einen besonderen Lebensweg, dann ist das doch hoch spannend und inspirierend, das sollte man nicht für sich behalten.
Die Zeit, 24.08.2013, Nr. 0 - 3D-Drucken ist ein zeitaufwendiges Hobby und erfordert technisches Verständnis.
Die Zeit, 24.09.2012, Nr. 39
Activity 2
A.
Let’s find out more about popular leisure activities in German-speaking countries. Search for Freizeit (‘free time, leisure’) from the main DWDS homepage, scroll down to the word cloud, click the Detailliertere Informationen link above the word cloud, and scroll down to the table hat in Koordination mit. You can see a list of nouns associated with Freizeit. Match the nouns listed below with their English equivalents. If needed, you can consult the online dictionary LEO.
Click on these words in the table to see their usage examples with Freizeit. E.g.: Ferien sind wie ein dauerhaftes Wochenende mit viel Freiheit und Freizeit, Entspannung und Vergnügen.
B.
It is important to learn the German nouns together with their articles. Look at the nouns from 2A in the list below and identify 4 nouns that go with der, 5 nouns that go with die, and 1 noun that goes with das.
C.
Read the following examples with the word Spaß from the DWDS corpus, pay attention to the bolded words.
Mein Job macht mir Spaß.
Die Zeit, 08.01.2018 (online)
“Wenn dir das Spiel nicht so viel Spaß macht, dann kommst du nie so weit”, sagt Mühlöcker.
Die Zeit, 13.12.2017, Nr. 51
Eigentlich macht ihr das Fahren Spaß, sagt sie.
Die Zeit, 27.10.2017 (online)
Ich habe immer noch super viel Spaß am Sport“, sagt Andrei.
Die Zeit, 04.09.2017 (online)
ZEIT ONLINE: Haben Sie noch Spaß am Fußball?
Die Zeit, 20.12.2017 (online)
Wie viel Spaß haben Sie derzeit am Biathlon-Sport?
Die Zeit, 02.12.2015 (online)
How can you translate the following sentence? “I have fun with tennis.”
Activity 3
A.
Sport is a frequent collocate of both Hobby and Freizeit. Go back to the DWDS homepage and search for the word Sportart. Scroll down to the word cloud, click the Detailliertere Informationen link above the word cloud, and scroll down to the table hat vergl. Wortgruppe. You can see a list of different sports. Match the sports listed below with their English equivalents. If needed, you can consult the online dictionary LEO.
B.
Read the examples taken from DWDS below and identify 5 Sportarten which were not mentioned above (A). Then match those nouns with their English equivalents. If needed, you can consult the online dictionary LEO.
C.
It is important to learn the German nouns together with their articles. Look at the 22 nouns that you learned in this module in the list below and identify 7 nouns that go with der, 2 nouns that go with die, and 13 nouns that go with das.
Activity 4
Just like in English, each sport activity is used with a specific verb in German. If the sport is a game, the verb spielen (’to play’) is used. The verb machen (’to do’) is used with other sports, for example:
- Nein, sie macht Judo.
Die Zeit, 30.03.2000, Nr. 14 - Er spielt Handball in der Jugend-Nationalmannschaft, studiert Wirtschaft in Kopenhagen und Harvard
Die Zeit, 18.10.2012, Nr. 43
Read the examples taken from DWDS corpus die ZEIT below and fill the gaps in the sentences with the correct verb that goes with each sport.
Pay attention to the verb ending (e.g., spiele, spielt, spielen).
Activity 5
Just like in English, one can ‘play’ (spielen) not only sports and games in German. Read the examples taken from DWDS below and identify 6 nouns associated with the verb spielen. If needed, you can consult the online dictionary LEO.
Activity 6
On your own. Using the word clouds from this module, write 4-5 sentences about your Hobbys. While writing the sentences, please pay attention to the specific verbs used with each activity.
For example:
Schwimmen und Kegeln sind meine Hobbys.
Montags und mittwochs spiele ich mit Lisa Tennis.
Wir machen in der Freizeit auch Yoga.
Schirin Kourehpaz & Nina Vyatkina
