Welcome to Unit 8 — Free Time and Hobbies! In this first lesson, you'll learn to talk about your hobbies and what you enjoy doing. Hindi uses a special structure for expressing likes — मुझे...पसंद है [mujhe...pasand hai] — where the thing you like is actually the subject of the sentence. This might feel different from English, but it's one of Hindi's most-used patterns. By the end of this lesson, you'll be chatting about your hobbies like a true Delhiite!
Learning tips
- In Hindi, 'I like singing' is literally 'to me, singing is liked' — मुझे गाना पसंद है [mujhe gānā pasand hai]. The experiencer (me) takes the dative case मुझे [mujhe], not the nominative मैं [maĩ].
- Hindi infinitives (गाना [gānā], खेलना [khelnā], बनाना [banānā]) often double as nouns — गाना means both 'to sing' and 'song/singing'.
- मज़ा आना [mazā ānā] ('fun comes') is a very Delhi way of saying something is enjoyable. Use it liberally!
- When listing hobbies, you can string them with और [aur] (and): गाना, नाचना, और खेलना [gānā, nācnā, aur khelnā].
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| सपना [sapnā] | dream | |
| बड़ा [baṛā] | big | |
| हवादार [havādār] | airy, ventilated | |
| रोशनी [rośnī] | light | |
| बग़ीचा [baġīcā] | garden | |
| ज़मीन [zamīn] | land, ground | |
| मंज़िल [manzil] | floor, storey | |
| किराया [kirāyā] | rent | |
| ख़रीदना [xarīdnā] | to buy | |
| चाहना [cāhnā] | to want |
Dialog
Sita and Ravi are taking a morning walk in Lodhi Garden, one of Delhi's most beautiful parks. Sita asks about Ravi's hobbies, and they discover they both love cooking! Notice how they use मुझे...पसंद है [mujhe...pasand hai] (I like) and मुझे...अच्छा लगता है [mujhe...acchā lagtā hai] (I enjoy) throughout. Sita reveals she learned Kathak dance in Jaipur and now enjoys cooking Rajasthani food. All 10 active vocabulary words appear naturally in their conversation.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| शौक़ | śauq | /ʃɔːq/ | hobby, interest | From Urdu/Persian — the most common word for hobby in everyday Hindi |
| गाना | gānā | /ɡaː.naː/ | to sing; song | Does double duty as both verb (to sing) and noun (song) — context tells you which |
| नाचना | nācnā | /naːt͡ʃ.naː/ | to dance | From नाच [nāc] (dance) + ना [nā] infinitive ending |
| खेलना | khelnā | /kʰeːl.naː/ | to play | Used for sports and games — not for musical instruments (that's बजाना [bajānā]) |
| बनाना | banānā | /bə.naː.naː/ | to make, to prepare | Very versatile — खाना बनाना [khānā banānā] (cook), प्लान बनाना [plān banānā] (make a plan) |
| सीखना | sīkhnā | /siːkʰ.naː/ | to learn | Often paired with शुरू करना [śurū karnā]: सीखना शुरू किया [sīkhnā śurū kiyā] (started learning) |
| पसंद | pasand | /pə.sən̪d̪/ | liked, preferred | Used with मुझे [mujhe] — literally 'to me it is liked'. Does not conjugate. |
| शुरू | śurū | /ʃʊ.ruː/ | beginning, start | शुरू करना [śurū karnā] = to start (something); शुरू होना [śurū honā] = to begin (on its own) |
| समय | samay | /sə.mɛː/ | time | ख़ाली समय [xālī samay] = free time. Also: समय पर [samay par] = on time |
| मज़ा | mazā | /mə.zaː/ | fun, enjoyment | मज़ा आना [mazā ānā] = to have fun (lit. 'fun comes'). Very colloquial Delhi Hindi. |
Passive words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| फ़ोटोग्राफ़ी | foṭogrāfī | /foː.ʈoː.ɡraː.fiː/ | photography | English loanword, commonly used in Hindi |
| बागवानी | bāgvānī | /baːɡ.vaː.niː/ | gardening | From बाग़ [bāġ] (garden) — popular hobby in Delhi's colonies |
| ड्रॉइंग | ḍrŏiṅg | /ɖrɔː.ɪŋ/ | drawing | English loanword — used alongside Hindi चित्रकला [citrakala] |
| सिलाई | silāī | /sɪ.laː.iː/ | sewing, stitching | A traditional skill still very popular in India |
| शतरंज | śatranj | /ʃə.t̪rən̪d͡ʒ/ | chess | India is the birthplace of chess (originally चतुरंग [caturaṅg]) |
| ताश | tāś | /t̪aːʃ/ | cards (playing cards) | Card games are a favorite pastime, especially during festivals like Diwali |
Useful chunks
| Word | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| मुझे...पसंद है | mujhe...pasand hai | I like... (something/doing something) |
| मुझे...अच्छा लगता है | mujhe...acchā lagtā hai | I enjoy... (doing something feels good to me) |
| मज़ा आता है | mazā ātā hai | It's fun / It's enjoyable |
Grammar: मुझे...पसंद है [mujhe...pasand hai] and मुझे...अच्छा लगता है [mujhe...acchā lagtā hai] — expressing likes
| Structure | Hindi | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| I like (noun) | मुझे चाय पसंद है | mujhe cāy pasand hai | I like tea |
| I like (verb) | मुझे गाना पसंद है | mujhe gānā pasand hai | I like singing |
| I enjoy (verb) | मुझे नाचना अच्छा लगता है | mujhe nācnā acchā lagtā hai | I enjoy dancing |
| She likes | उसे खेलना पसंद है | use khelnā pasand hai | She likes playing |
| We like | हमें सीखना पसंद है | hamẽ sīkhnā pasand hai | We like learning |
| Do you like? | क्या आपको गाना पसंद है? | kyā āpko gānā pasand hai? | Do you like singing? |
Hindi expresses 'liking' differently from English. Instead of 'I like singing,' Hindi says 'To me, singing is liked' — the experiencer takes the dative case:
मुझे गाना पसंद है [mujhe gānā pasand hai]
(to-me) (singing) (liked) (is)
The subject is actually गाना [gānā] (singing), not मैं [maĩ] (I)! This is called the 'dative subject' construction.
There are two main patterns:
1. मुझे + noun/verb + पसंद है [mujhe + noun/verb + pasand hai] — 'I like...'
- मुझे चाय पसंद है [mujhe cāy pasand hai] — I like tea
- मुझे गाना पसंद है [mujhe gānā pasand hai] — I like singing
2. मुझे + verb + अच्छा लगता है [mujhe + verb + acchā lagtā hai] — 'I enjoy...'
- मुझे नाचना अच्छा लगता है [mujhe nācnā acchā lagtā hai] — I enjoy dancing
To change the person, swap मुझे [mujhe]: उसे [use] (him/her), हमें [hamẽ] (us), आपको [āpko] (you-formal).
To make it negative: मुझे गाना पसंद नहीं है [mujhe gānā pasand nahī̃ hai] — I don't like singing.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the missing Hindi word.
- मुझे नाचना है।(liked/preferred)
- मैंने योग शुरू किया।(to learn)
- ख़ाली में मैं किताब पढ़ता हूँ।(time)
- मुझे नई चीज़ें बहुत अच्छा लगता है।(to learn)
- क्रिकेट में बहुत आता है!(to play / fun)
Grammar Application
Express each idea using the correct Hindi pattern.
- Say 'I like cooking' → (use मुझे...पसंद है [mujhe...pasand hai])
- Say 'I enjoy singing' → (use मुझे...अच्छा लगता है [mujhe...acchā lagtā hai])
- Ask 'Do you like dancing?' (formal) → (use क्या आपको...पसंद है? [kyā āpko...pasand hai?])
- Say 'I started learning Hindi' → (use सीखना शुरू किया [sīkhnā śurū kiyā])
- Say 'There is a lot of fun in hobbies' → (use मज़ा आना [mazā ānā])
Translation (English → Hindi)
Translate each sentence into Hindi.
- I like singing.
- I started dancing.
- I enjoy cooking.
- In my free time I play.
- Hobbies are a lot of fun.
Creative Construction
Write 2 sentences about your hobbies using words from this lesson. Use at least 4 active vocabulary words.
Writing: Conjuncts (संयुक्ताक्षर [saṃyuktākṣar]) — Part 2
Practice words
| Word | Romanization |
|---|---|
| शौक़ | śauq |
| श्रेष्ठ | śreṣṭh |
| ज्ञान | jñān |
Today we look at special conjunct consonants (संयुक्ताक्षर [saṃyuktākṣar]) — combinations that form unique shapes rather than simple half-letters:
- श्र [śra] — श [ś] + र [r] → as in श्रेष्ठ [śreṣṭh] (best)
- क्ष [kṣa] — क [k] + ष [ṣ] → as in शिक्षा [śikṣā] (education)
- त्र [tra] — त [t] + र [r] → as in मित्र [mitr] (friend)
- ज्ञ [jña] — ज [j] + ञ [ñ] → as in ज्ञान [jñān] (knowledge) — often pronounced 'gyān' in Hindi
- द्ध [ddha] — द [d] + ध [dh] → as in शुद्ध [śuddh] (pure)
- द्व [dva] — द [d] + व [v] → as in द्वार [dvār] (door)
These special forms need to be memorized individually — they don't follow the standard half-letter pattern.
Takeaway
मुझे...पसंद है [mujhe...pasand hai] is the easiest way to say 'I like' in Hindi — remember it and you'll use it every day!