Cooking as a Hobby | Learn German in English

German lesson set in a contemporary Berlin everyday setting: At home, two adults talk about cooking simple soup and sharing it when it is ready..

EN → DE / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Cooking as a Hobby to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Ist Kochen dein Hobby?

ist KOH-khen dine HOB-bee? Is cooking your hobby?
B

Ich mache gern einfaches Essen zu Hause.

ikh MAKH-uh gairn EYN-fakh-uhs ESS-un tsoo HOW-zuh. I like making simple food at home.
A

Was machst du gern?

vahs makhst doo gairn? What do you like to make?
B

Ich mache oft eine einfache Suppe.

ikh MAKH-uh oft EYE-nuh EYN-fakh-uh SUP-puh. I often make a simple soup.
A

Benutzt du ein Rezept?

beh-NOOTST doo ine reh-TSEPT? Do you use a recipe?
B

Ich benutze ein einfaches Rezept.

ikh beh-NOOT-suh ine EYN-fakh-uhs reh-TSEPT. I follow an easy one.
A

Ich möchte die Suppe probieren, wenn sie fertig ist.

ikh MURKH-tuh dee SUP-puh proh-BEER-un, ven zee FAIR-tikh ist. I would like to try it when it is ready.
B

Ich hebe etwas Suppe für dich auf.

ikh HAY-buh ET-vahs SUP-puh fyoor dikh owf. I will save some soup for you.

Word by Word

Ist “Ist” means “is” here and begins the yes-or-no question “Ist Kochen dein Hobby?”. It is the verb form used with “Kochen” as the subject. You can reuse this question pattern to ask whether an activity is someone’s hobby.
Kochen “Kochen” means cooking as an activity in “Ist Kochen dein Hobby?”. The capital letter shows that the activity is being used as a noun. Use it to talk about cooking as a hobby or activity.
dein “Dein” means “your” and identifies the hobby as belonging to the person being addressed. It appears before “Hobby” in “Ist Kochen dein Hobby?”. This possessive word can be reused before something that belongs to or concerns one person you address.
Hobby “Hobby” means hobby in “Ist Kochen dein Hobby?”. It names an activity someone enjoys in their free time. You can use it after a possessive word when asking about a person’s hobby.
Ich “Ich” means “I” and identifies the speaker in “Ich mache gern einfaches Essen zu Hause.” It is used when the speaker describes their own action or preference. Reuse it as the subject when saying what you do or like to do.
mache “Mache” means “make” in “Ich mache gern einfaches Essen zu Hause.” It describes the speaker’s action of preparing food. A useful pattern is “Ich mache” followed by the thing being made.
gern “Gern” means that the speaker likes doing the action in “Ich mache gern einfaches Essen zu Hause.” It is placed after the verb “mache” to express enjoyment of making food. The same pattern appears in “Was machst du gern?” when asking what someone likes to do.
einfaches “Einfaches” means simple and describes “Essen” in “Ich mache gern einfaches Essen zu Hause.” It is placed directly before the food noun it describes. Reuse this adjective before a suitable neuter food or object when describing it as simple.
Essen “Essen” means food in “Ich mache gern einfaches Essen zu Hause.” It is the thing that the speaker makes. You can reuse it after “machen” when talking about preparing food.
zu Hause “Zu Hause” means “at home” as a whole in “Ich mache gern einfaches Essen zu Hause.” Here, “zu” and “Hause” together express the location, not two separate meanings of the sentence. Reuse “zu Hause” when saying that an activity happens at home.
Was “Was” means “what” in “Was machst du gern?”. It asks which activity or thing the other person likes to make or do. You can place it at the beginning of a question when asking what someone does.
machst “Machst” contributes the meaning “make” or “do” in “Was machst du gern?”. It is the action word used with “du”, the person being addressed. Reuse the question pattern “Was machst du gern?” to ask about someone’s preferred activities.
oft “Oft” means “often” in “Ich mache oft eine einfache Suppe.” It shows that making the soup happens frequently. Place it near the verb to describe how regularly an activity occurs.
eine “Eine” means “a” in “eine einfache Suppe.” It introduces one soup without identifying a particular soup yet. Reuse it before a noun when introducing one item of this type.
einfache “Einfache” means simple and describes the soup in “eine einfache Suppe.” It comes before “Suppe” and matches the noun phrase used there. You can reuse it before a suitable noun when describing something as simple.
Suppe “Suppe” means soup in “Ich mache oft eine einfache Suppe.” It names the food being prepared. You can use it after “eine einfache” when talking about one simple soup.
Benutzt “Benutzt” means “use” in “Benutzt du ein Rezept?”. It appears at the beginning because the sentence is a question asking whether the person uses a recipe. Reuse this question pattern with “du” and an object after the verb.
du “Du” means “you” when addressing one person directly. In “Benutzt du ein Rezept?” and “Was machst du gern?”, it identifies the person whose action is being asked about. Use it when speaking informally to one person.
ein “Ein” means “a” in “ein Rezept.” It introduces one recipe without identifying a particular recipe. It comes directly before “Rezept” in this noun phrase.
Rezept “Rezept” means recipe in “Benutzt du ein Rezept?”. It names the instructions used for making the soup. A useful pattern is “ein Rezept benutzen” when saying that you use a recipe.
benutze “Benutze” means “use” in “Ich benutze ein einfaches Rezept.” It describes the speaker’s action toward the recipe. Reuse the pattern “Ich benutze” followed by the thing being used.
möchte “Möchte” means “would like” in “Ich möchte die Suppe probieren, wenn sie fertig ist.” It expresses the speaker’s wish to taste the soup. It is followed here by the infinitive “probieren” to state the desired action.
die “Die” means “the” in “die Suppe”. It refers to the specific soup already being discussed. Use it before a noun when the listener can identify which item is meant.
probieren “Probieren” means “try” or “taste” in “Ich möchte die Suppe probieren”. It is the action the speaker would like to do with the soup. After “möchte”, use this infinitive to describe the desired action.
wenn “Wenn” means “when” in “wenn sie fertig ist.” It introduces the time condition for trying the soup. Reuse it to connect an action with the time when something happens.
sie “Sie” means “it” here and refers back to “die Suppe” in “wenn sie fertig ist.” It is the subject of the time clause. Use this pronoun when referring back to the soup in the following sentence.
fertig “Fertig” means “ready” in “wenn sie fertig ist.” It describes the soup’s state at the time when the speaker wants to try it. Reuse it with “sein” to say that something is ready.
hebe “Hebe” means “save” or “keep” in “Ich hebe etwas Suppe für dich auf.” It is part of the verb “aufheben”, whose particle “auf” appears at the end of the sentence. This pattern is useful when saying that you will keep something for another person.
etwas “Etwas” means “some” in “Ich hebe etwas Suppe für dich auf.” It refers to an unspecified amount of soup. Place it before the thing being saved when the exact amount is not stated.
für “Für” means “for” in “für dich.” It marks the person who is intended to receive the saved soup. Reuse “für” before the person or thing that benefits from an action.
dich “Dich” means “you” in “für dich” and identifies the person for whom the soup is being saved. It follows “für” in this expression. Use “für dich” when saying that something is intended for the person you are addressing.
auf “Auf” is the separable part of “aufheben” in “Ich hebe etwas Suppe für dich auf.” Together with “hebe”, it gives the meaning “save” or “keep”; here it stands at the end of the sentence. Reuse this verb pattern when keeping something aside for someone.

Grammar Points

aufheben → hebe ... auf

Ich hebe etwas für dich auf.

ikh HAY-buh ET-vahs fyoor dikh owf.

I save something for you.

aufheben is a separable verb: in a main clause, auf moves to the end.

wenn + verb at the end

Wenn du fertig bist, hebe etwas für dich auf.

ven doo FAIR-tikh bist, HAY-buh ET-vahs fyoor dikh owf.

When you are finished, save something for yourself.

In a clause with wenn, the conjugated verb goes to the end.

German Vocabulary

benutzen verb
beh-NOOT-sun to use benutzt
einfach adj
EYN-fakh simple; easy einfaches
Essen noun
ESS-un food
gern adv
gairn gladly; like to
Hobby noun
HOB-bee hobby
Kochen noun
KOH-khen cooking
machen verb
MAKH-un to make mache
oft adv
oft often
probieren verb
proh-BEER-un to try
Rezept noun
reh-TSEPT recipe
Suppe noun
SUP-puh soup
zu Hause phrase
tsoo HOW-zuh at home

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Is cooking your hobby?

Show AnswerIst Kochen dein Hobby?

What do you like to make?

Show AnswerWas machst du gern?

I often make a simple soup.

Show AnswerIch mache oft eine einfache Suppe.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

cooking

Show AnswerKochen

hobby

Show AnswerHobby

simple; easy

Show Answereinfaches

soup

Show AnswerSuppe