兴趣
interest
xìngqù
What does 兴趣 mean?
兴趣 (xìngqù) is the Chinese noun for 'interest' in the sense of a personal attraction to a topic, activity, or hobby — what makes you want to spend time on something. It is almost always used with a fixed pattern: 对 X 有兴趣 / 感兴趣 / 没兴趣 ('to be interested / not interested in X'). Two things English speakers often miss.
First, unlike English 'interest', 兴趣 does NOT mean money interest (that is 利息 lìxī) or a business stake (股份 gǔfèn) — it is purely about curiosity or liking. Second, 兴趣 is a noun, not a verb; to say 'I'm interested', you say 我对…有兴趣 or 我对…感兴趣, never just 我兴趣. The related adjective is 有意思 ('interesting' as a property of the thing).
Character breakdown
mood; pleasure; interest
fun; flavour; appeal
Memory hook: 兴 (mood / spirit) + 趣 (fun) = the spirit-fun a topic gives you.
Measure word for 兴趣
Example sentences
我对中文很有兴趣。
Wǒ duì Zhōngwén hěn yǒu xìngqù.
I'm very interested in Chinese.
neutral
他对足球没有兴趣。
Tā duì zúqiú méiyǒu xìngqù.
He has no interest in football.
spoken
你的兴趣是什么？
Nǐ de xìngqù shì shénme?
What are your interests?
spoken
学习中文是我最大的兴趣。
Xuéxí Zhōngwén shì wǒ zuì dà de xìngqù.
Studying Chinese is my biggest interest.
neutral
孩子应该有自己的兴趣爱好。
Háizi yīnggāi yǒu zìjǐ de xìngqù àihào.
Children should have their own interests and hobbies.
written
Common phrases with 兴趣
Synonyms
爱好 is a 'hobby' — a regular activity you do because you like it (chess, photography). 兴趣 is the underlying 'interest / curiosity' that you may or may not act on. 我的爱好是画画 (my hobby is painting) vs 我对画画有兴趣 (I'm interested in painting).
趣味 is more written/literary, meaning 'taste, flavour, fun-ness' of something itself. 兴趣 is the person's interest IN something. A book has 趣味; a reader has 兴趣.
Don't confuse 兴趣 with
利息 is bank/financial interest — money paid on a loan or deposit. 兴趣 is the curiosity / liking sense. The bank pays 利息, not 兴趣.
有意思 is an adjective meaning 'interesting / fun' as a quality of a thing. 兴趣 is a noun for the feeling in a person. 这本书很有意思 (this book is interesting) vs 我对这本书有兴趣 (I'm interested in this book).