Talk About Your Hobbies in Brazilian Portuguese: Ask and Follow Up — Practice

Say what you enjoy with gostar de or curtir

Gostar de means to like. Before a noun, use gosto de música (I like music); before another verb, keep de: gosto de cozinhar (I like cooking). Curto is a common informal way to say ‘I’m into’ or ‘I enjoy’ something, but gostar de works in many settings.

You can make your answer more specific by adding when or with whom you do the activity. This gives the other person something to ask about and helps you practice useful time phrases.

Ask a follow-up instead of stopping at the hobby name

To ask what someone likes doing, say O que você gosta de fazer? A natural follow-up can ask how often they do it, when they started, or what they recommend. Choose one question that connects to what the person just said rather than running through a memorized list.

If you do not know the hobby’s name, describe it or ask for the word: Como chama aquela atividade? (What is that activity called?). You can also compare preferences without assuming that an activity is typical for everyone in Brazil.

Remember: Use gostar de + noun or infinitive to describe an interest, add one specific detail, and ask a follow-up that grows naturally from the answer.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. I like walking in the park on Sundays.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Gosto de caminhar no parque aos domingos.

2. I enjoy cooking for my friends.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Eu curto cozinhar para os meus amigos.

3. In my free time, I like reading novels.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Nas horas vagas, gosto de ler romances.

4. What do you like doing on the weekend?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   O que você gosta de fazer no fim de semana?

5. Do you usually play every week?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você costuma jogar toda semana?

6. Which book do you recommend starting with?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Qual livro você recomenda para começar?

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Use gostar de + noun or infinitive to describe an interest, add one specific detail, and ask a follow-up that grows naturally from the answer.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Talk About Your Hobbies in Brazilian Portuguese: Ask and Follow Up lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.