爱好
hobby; interest
àihào
What does 爱好 mean?
爱好 (àihào) means 'hobby' or 'personal interest' — an activity you do for enjoyment outside of work or study. It is the standard answer to 你的爱好是什么？ ('What are your hobbies?'), a classic question in Chinese small talk, classroom self-introductions, and résumés.
The word works both as a noun ('my hobbies are reading and swimming') and, in slightly more formal writing, as a verb meaning 'to be keen on' (他爱好运动 'he is keen on sports'). It differs from the English word 'hobby' in feel: 爱好 sounds slightly more committed and broader than 'hobby' — it can cover lifelong passions, not just casual pastimes. For one-off likes or food preferences, native speakers use 喜欢 (xǐhuan) instead.
Note: Neutral and useful in both casual and formal contexts — small talk, resumes, school self-introductions all use 爱好. Slightly more written-feeling than just saying 我喜欢…
Character breakdown
to love; affection
to be fond of (4th tone reading)
Memory hook: Literally 'love + be fond of' — the things you both love and are fond of doing. Note that 好 here is 4th tone (hào), not the usual hǎo.
Measure word for 爱好
Example sentences
你有什么爱好？
Nǐ yǒu shénme àihào?
What hobbies do you have?
spoken
我的爱好是看电影。
Wǒ de àihào shì kàn diànyǐng.
My hobby is watching movies.
neutral
我们有很多共同爱好。
Wǒmen yǒu hěn duō gòngtóng àihào.
We have a lot of shared hobbies.
neutral
他的爱好是跑步和游泳。
Tā de àihào shì pǎobù hé yóuyǒng.
His hobbies are running and swimming.
neutral
工作之外，培养一个爱好很重要。
Gōngzuò zhī wài, péiyǎng yí gè àihào hěn zhòngyào.
Outside of work, it's important to cultivate a hobby.
written
Common phrases with 爱好
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
爱好 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.