I can ask and answer what someone's hobby is and what kind of music, manga, or food they like, and say what I do on my day off.
Free time: しゅみはなんですか
Free time: しゅみはなんですか
Asking someone what they do in their free time, and answering yourself, is how a conversation after work begins. Models are in the table below.
The question about hobbies is しゅみは何（なん）ですか。 At this level, answer with a single noun, not an -ing phrase: サッカーです。
どんな means “what kind of”. It goes straight before the noun and never changes: どんなマンガ, どんなりょうり. The particle の never follows どんな. Answer a どんな question with the kind of thing asked about, not “yes” or “no”.
何 and どんな ask different things. 何 is “what”: it comes before ですか or before the particle を. どんな is “what kind of”: a noun always follows it. The character 何 is read なん before ですか and なに before を.
To ask about the weekend: しゅうまつは何（なに）をしますか。 Answer like this: えいがを見ます（みます）。
After 好き（すき）, the thing you like takes the particle が, although English “like” takes a direct object.
Common mistakes:
• NOT どんなのマンガ — no の after どんな.
• NOT なにマンガがすきですか — asking what kind of manga takes どんな.
• NOT しゅみはなんがですか — が doesn't belong here: しゅみはなんですか。
• NOT アニメを好きです — after 好き use が.
Talking about free time
The first column is the question, the last one a model short answer.
| Question | What it asks about | Model answer |
|---|---|---|
| しゅみは何（なん）ですか。 | hobby | どくしょです。 |
| どんなおんがくが好き（すき）ですか。 | what kind exactly | にほんのおんがくです。 |
| しゅうまつは何（なに）をしますか。 | what you do on weekends | かいものにいきます。 |
| やきゅうが好き（すき）ですか。 | whether you like it | はい、だいすきです。 |
Lesson notes
Free time: しゅみはなんですか
Asking someone what they do in their free time, and answering yourself, is how a conversation after work begins. Models are in the table below.
The question about hobbies is しゅみは何（なん）ですか。 At this level, answer with a single noun, not an -ing phrase: サッカーです。
どんな means “what kind of”. It goes straight before the noun and never changes: どんなマンガ, どんなりょうり. The particle の never follows どんな. Answer a どんな question with the kind of thing asked about, not “yes” or “no”.
何 and どんな ask different things. 何 is “what”: it comes before ですか or before the particle を. どんな is “what kind of”: a noun always follows it. The character 何 is read なん before ですか and なに before を.
To ask about the weekend: しゅうまつは何（なに）をしますか。 Answer like this: えいがを見ます（みます）。
After 好き（すき）, the thing you like takes the particle が, although English “like” takes a direct object.
Common mistakes:
• NOT どんなのマンガ — no の after どんな.
• NOT なにマンガがすきですか — asking what kind of manga takes どんな.
• NOT しゅみはなんがですか — が doesn't belong here: しゅみはなんですか。
• NOT アニメを好きです — after 好き use が.