Japanese Hobbies Vocabulary

Here are Japanese words for hobbies to start with: 楽しさ (tanoshisa, fun), 聴く (kiku, listen), 映画 (eiga, movie), 音楽 (ongaku, music). Below are 32 words (A1–C1) with their English translations, part of speech and a romanization to help you say them, across 4 themed lists.

A child painting with a brush at a table
Photo: rawpixel

Hobbies Basics

A1
EnglishJapaneseTypeLevel
collect集めるatsumeruverbA1
enjoy楽しむtanoshimuverbA1
fun楽しさtanoshisanounA1
listen聴くkikuverbA1
movie映画eiganounA1
music音楽ongakunounA1
sing歌うutauverbA1
watch見るmiruverbA1

The rest of this pack is in the app

Hobbies Intermediate

A1–A2
EnglishJapaneseTypeLevel
collectionコレクションkorekushonnounA1
concertコンサートkonsaatonounA1
garden庭niwanounA1
hobby趣味shuminounA1
painting絵画kaiganounA1
practice練習renshuunounA1
theater劇場gekijounounA1
drawingデッサンdessannounA2

More from this pack waits in the app

Hobbies Advanced

B2–C1
EnglishJapaneseTypeLevel
leisurelyのんびりしたnonbirishitaadjB2
artisan職人shokuninnounC1
blacksmithing鍛冶kajinounC1
bookbinding製本seihonnounC1
glassblowing吹きガラスfukigarasunounC1
pastime気晴らしkibarashinounC1
recreational娯楽のgoraku noadjC1
taxidermy剥製術hakuseijutsunounC1

Keep going with this pack in the app

Reading & Books

A2–B2
EnglishJapaneseTypeLevel
comic漫画manganounA2
short story短編小説tanpenshousetsunounA2
encyclopedia百科事典hyakkajitennounB1
graphic novelグラフィックノベルgurafikkunoberunounB1
non-fictionノンフィクションnonfikushonnounB1
science fictionSFesu efunounB1
foreword序文jobunnounB2
prefaceまえがきmaegakinounB2

Emoji: Twemoji, CC-BY 4.0

A sample of the A1–C1 words. The rest are in the app

Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch

These lists show a sample of the A1–C1 words for hobbies. The packs in Watch Your Language hold more and reach the advanced levels, along with every other topic.

The app shows them to you a few at a time, in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting.

Common questions

Which Japanese words should I learn for hobbies?

You could start with words like 楽しさ (tanoshisa, fun), 聴く (kiku, listen), 映画 (eiga, movie), 音楽 (ongaku, music). This page lists 32 Japanese words for hobbies (A1–C1), each with its English translation and part of speech.

How can I remember these Japanese words?

Reading a list once is rarely enough. Watch Your Language shows Japanese words like these in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and schedules repeats so the words you keep forgetting come back more often.

Are these word lists free?

Yes. The lists on this page are free to read, with no sign-up. The app holds more words for each topic.

More Japanese word lists