Hobbies and leisure

A2 gave you I like reading, I play football, I watch TV. That’s enough to answer a question — but not enough to actually talk about your weekend. B1 hobby vocabulary needs to cover categories (outdoor / creative / performing / tech / wellness / collecting / social), the verbs of starting and stopping (take up, get into, give up, be hooked on), and the frames Americans actually use (I’m into X, not my cup of tea, right up my alley).

Hobbies are the number one small-talk topic after work and weather. Knowing how to talk about yours — and ask about someone else’s — is one of the highest-payoff B1 vocabulary investments.

Outdoor hobbies

In 2026, hiking is arguably the most common American outdoor hobby — accessible, free, and tied to the national park culture. Birding (newer, shorter form of birdwatching) had a major surge after 2020 and is still trending.

Creative and craft hobbies

Common phrasings:

• I do pottery on weekends.
• I’m taking a calligraphy class.
• She’s really into knitting.

Performing hobbies

Note: Americans often distinguish play guitar (= can play it) from play the guitar (= play that specific one). Both are fine; play guitar is slightly more casual.

Tech and digital hobbies

By 2026, AI tinkering — making custom GPTs, building little Claude-powered apps, training small models — is a legitimate hobby category among technically inclined Americans.

Wellness hobbies

Wellness has become one of the dominant American hobby categories. Cold plunging and sauna culture exploded after the Andrew Huberman / Joe Rogan podcast boom and are now mainstream in 2026.

Collecting

Useful verbs:

• I collect vinyl.
• I’m a collector.
• I’m into sneakers.
• I’m building a collection of [X].

Social hobbies

These are huge in American urban / suburban life:

By 2026, pickleball is genuinely the most-talked-about new American hobby — millions of new players, dedicated courts in every city. Knowing the word is essential.

Verbs for starting, having, and stopping a hobby

This is a B1 leap. The right verbs make you sound natural:

Examples:

• I took up pottery last year.
• I just got into chess.
• He’s really into D&D right now.
• I dabble in photography — nothing serious.
• I’m hooked on this new puzzle game.
• I gave up running after my injury.
• I’m getting back into knitting.

The most common B1-level frame is “I’m (really) into X” — it works for any hobby and is universally understood.

Collocations

• take up a hobby / yoga / a sport / painting
• get into photography / running / a new show / chess
• be into music / sports / video games / hiking
• dabble in painting / coding / writing
• be hooked on a game / a show / a podcast
• give up smoking / soda / a habit / a hobby
• pick up a new skill / a hobby (= start learning casually)
• stick with a hobby / a routine (= keep doing)
• lose track of time (= time passes without noticing — sign of flow)
• kill time (= pass time without purpose)
• spend time doing X
• make time for X (= prioritize)
• find time for X (= manage to do)
• carve out time for X (= deliberately set aside)
• a passion project (= hobby that’s serious / personal)
• a side project (= small extra project, often creative or technical)

Phrases and expressions

• have a knack for (X) — be naturally good at
  • She has a knack for languages.
• rusty at (X) — out of practice
  • I haven’t played in years — I’m rusty.
• not my cup of tea — not something I enjoy
  • Golf? Not really my cup of tea.
• right up my alley — perfectly suited to me
  • A puzzle game? That’s right up my alley.
• a labor of love — work done out of passion, not money
  • This podcast is a labor of love for me.
• just for fun — as a hobby, not professionally
  • I play guitar just for fun.
• on the side — as a secondary activity
  • I do photography on the side.
• a creative outlet — a hobby that lets you express yourself
  • Painting is my creative outlet.
• scratch an itch — satisfy a desire
  • Building this app scratched a coding itch.

AmE-specific hobby vocabulary

• “I’m into X” — the universal AmE frame for talking about hobbies. I’m into hiking. I’m into board games. I’m into true crime podcasts.
• “I just got into X” — recent start. I just got into pickleball — I’m obsessed.
• side hustle — when a hobby earns money on the side of your main job. By 2026, side hustle is one of the most common Americanisms — Etsy shops, freelance design, podcast monetization, AI consulting, etc. My side hustle is selling pottery on Etsy.
• weekend warrior — someone who does an intense hobby (cycling, climbing, golf) only on weekends. Slightly self-deprecating. I’m a weekend warrior — I bike 50 miles every Saturday but nothing during the week.
• gear — equipment for any hobby. I just bought new camping gear. Not equipment, which is more formal. Americans say gear for hiking, biking, camping, photography, gaming.
• gear up (verb) — prepare equipment / prepare yourself.
• a setup — your equipment configuration, especially for gaming, music, or studio. He’s got a sick gaming setup.
• DIY /ˌdiː aɪ ˈwaɪ/ — do-it-yourself. Catch-all for handmade hobbies. DIY home improvement, DIY furniture, DIY everything.
• maker — someone who makes things (3D printing, electronics, crafts). Maker culture.
• homebody — person who prefers staying home. I’m a homebody — my hobbies are all indoor.

Talking about your hobbies — useful sentence patterns

• In my free time, I like to ___.
• I’m really into ___.
• I just got into ___.
• I’ve been doing ___ for [time].
• I picked it up [when].
• I’m trying to get back into ___.
• I gave up ___ a few years ago.
• I dabble in ___ but I’m not great.
• It’s just for fun.
• It’s kind of my creative outlet.
• I’m a total beginner.
• I’d say I’m intermediate.
• I’ve been doing it for years.

Common Russian-speaker mistakes

1. My hobby is X. Grammatically correct but rare in real speech. Americans say I’m into X, I do X, I like X. My hobby is photography sounds like a job interview answer. I’m really into photography sounds like a person.
2. Free time activity as a phrase. This is direct translation from хобби / занятие в свободное время. Just say hobby or thing — That’s my thing, Reading is my thing.
3. Wrong verb with sport/instrument. Play + sport (play tennis), play + instrument (play guitar), do + martial arts / yoga (do yoga, do karate), go + -ing form (go hiking, go fishing). Not make sport, not play yoga.
4. I am occupied with X. Russian заниматься doesn’t translate as occupy. Use I do X or I’m into X. I’m occupied with painting sounds wrong; I do painting / I paint / I’m into painting are correct.
5. Take a hobby. The verb is take up (with up). I want to take up a new hobby — not take a new hobby.
6. Interesting in X instead of interested in X. Common confusion. I’m interested in chess (= I find it interesting). Chess is interesting (= chess as a thing is interesting). I’m interesting in chess is wrong.
7. Overusing very. I very like hiking is a classic L1 calque. Say I really like hiking or I love hiking or I’m really into hiking. Very doesn’t go before verbs in English.

Summary

• Categories: outdoor (hiking, biking, camping, kayaking, gardening, birding); creative (painting, photography, knitting, crocheting, woodworking, pottery, calligraphy, baking); performing (instrument, singing, dancing, acting, stand-up, karaoke, podcasting); tech (gaming, coding, 3D printing, drones, AI tinkering); wellness (yoga, meditation, journaling, cold plunging); collecting (vinyl, sneakers, comics, sports cards, LEGO); social (board games, D&D, trivia night, escape rooms, book club, pickleball).
• Verbs: take up (start), get into (become interested), be into (current interest), dabble in, be hooked on, give up, get back into.
• Frames: I’m (really) into X, I just got into X, I do X on the side.
• Phrases: have a knack for, rusty at, not my cup of tea, right up my alley, labor of love, creative outlet.
• AmE specific: side hustle (hobby that earns), weekend warrior, gear, setup, DIY, maker, homebody.

Next theme: Sport and fitness — football vs soccer, MVP, the playoffs, and the gym.