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Lesson 26.02A2
Hobbies & Free Time
Hobbies & Free Time
French hobby verbs often pair with jouer à (for games/sports) or jouer de (for instruments) — a fixed distinction worth locking in early, since English uses the single verb 'play' for both.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
jouer à vs. jouer de
French
jouer au foot (to play football) vs. jouer du piano (to play the piano)
English
to play football, to play the piano
jouer à + sport/game names the activity you play (jouer au tennis, jouer aux cartes); jouer de + musical instrument names the instrument you play (jouer de la guitare, jouer du piano). English collapses both into one verb — 'play football' and 'play piano' look identical — so this à/de split is a genuinely new distinction to track, not something you can predict from the English sentence.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| jouer au foot | zhoo-ay oh FOOT | to play football/soccer |
| jouer du piano | zhoo-ay dew pee-ah-NOH | to play the piano |
| lire | leer | to read |
| dessiner | day-see-NAY | to draw |
| cuisiner | kwee-zee-NAY | to cook |
| faire du sport | fair dew spor | to play sports / exercise |
| regarder des films | ruh-gar-day day feelm | to watch movies |
| écouter de la musique | ay-koo-tay duh lah mew-ZEEK | to listen to music |
| voyager | vwah-yah-ZHAY | to travel |
| jardiner | zhar-dee-NAY | to garden |
| le temps libre | luh tahn LEE-bruh | free time |
| un passe-temps | uhn pahs-tahn | a hobby |