01 · The pattern that carries the whole badge
Me gusta pintar.
I like to paint.
The second verb never conjugates — always the infinitive, no matter what you love doing.
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Pasatiempos
Say what you love doing, how often, and ask about theirs — out loud.
The pattern that carries hobby talk is me gusta + infinitive: me gusta pintar — the second verb never conjugates (never me gusta pinto). For habits, add suelo + infinitive: suelo leer por las noches, I usually read at night. The question to ask back is ¿qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre? — and in real Latin American speech people say el hobby more than the bookish la afición, and andar en bici rather than the textbook montar en bicicleta.
Below: the hobby words lesson by lesson, how Mexicans, Argentines and Colombians each say 'I love doing this', the me-gusta slip that marks a beginner — and a way to learn it all &Be's way: by actually chatting about what you do for fun, no flashcards, no drills.
The warm-up pack
The sentences that come up when someone asks what you do for fun — and you actually answer.
01 · The pattern that carries the whole badge
Me gusta pintar.
I like to paint.
The second verb never conjugates — always the infinitive, no matter what you love doing.
02 · Turning it into a habit
Suelo leer por las noches.
I usually read at night.
Suelo plus infinitive is how you say "I usually" — no need to count days or add siempre.
03 · Asking it back
¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre?
What do you like to do in your free time?
The question you'll be asked for the rest of your Spanish life — learn it once, use it forever.
04 · Weekend commitment
Le echo ganas a la pintura los fines de semana.
I really put effort into painting on weekends.
Echarle ganas means throwing yourself into something — more feeling than a plain "me gusta."
05 · The natural verb for photos
Saco fotos con el cel.
I take pictures with my phone.
Sacar fotos, never "hacer fotos" — the textbook version gives you away instantly.
06 · The real way to say you cycle
Los domingos ando en bici.
On Sundays I ride my bike.
Andar en bici, not "montar en bicicleta" — that phrase is what non-natives learn from books.
07 · Settling in for screen time
Me pongo a jugar juegos.
I get into playing video games.
Ponerse a plus infinitive means "to start doing" — useful for any hobby, not just this one.
08 · Getting lost in a book
Me clavo leyendo.
I get totally absorbed reading.
Clavarse means to sink into something — Mexico and Argentina both use it for losing track of time.
09 · Owning your hobby in one line
Soy de coleccionar.
I'm a collector type. (Colombia)
Soy de plus infinitive is a compact way to claim a hobby as part of who you are.
10 · The warmer way to ask
¿Qué te late hacer en tus ratos libres?
What are you into in your free time? (Mexico)
Te late is Mexican for "you're drawn to" — same question as ¿qué te gusta hacer?, friendlier register.
11 · Closing the conversation
Eso es lo mío.
That's my thing. (Caribbean)
How you end the hobby chat once you've found common ground — warm, not a full stop.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/pasatiemposRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
No flashcards, no fill-in-the-blanks — in the Pasatiempos lessons your hobbies are the syllabus. Olivia asks the question you'll be asked for the rest of your Spanish life — ¿qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre? — and builds the conversation out of your answers: me gusta pintar, suelo leer por las noches, weekends are for andar en bici. Along the way she feeds you the versions locals use — me late dibujar in Mexico, me copa pintar in Argentina, me la gozo cocinando in Colombia — until talking about what you love sounds like you. And she talks back.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 5 lessons and Pasatiempos is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre? is the standard question. In casual Mexican Spanish you'll hear ¿qué te late hacer en tus ratos libres? — same question, warmer register.
El pasatiempo is the dictionary word and la afición leans Spain — in Latin America the anglicism el hobby is what people actually say. To say you're really into something: estoy metido en la fotografía.
No — it stays in the infinitive: me gusta pintar, never me gusta pinto. The same holds for me gusta leer, me gusta escribir — conjugate nothing after gusta.
Suelo + infinitive: suelo leer por las noches — I usually read at night. It's the natural way to say how often a hobby happens without counting days.
Jugar is only for games and sports — jugar al ajedrez, or Argentina's jugar a la play for video games. Other hobbies take hacer (hacer manualidades) or their own verb: pintar, leer, sacar fotos.