Learn Chinese L9: I like swimming.

Dachuan and Sun Dawei are strolling on the seaside, talking about hobbies.

Dialogue One

wǒ　xǐ　huɑn　yóu　yǒnɡ　nǐ　yǒu　shén　me　ài　hào
我　喜　 欢　　游　 泳。　你　有　　什　 么　爱　好？
I like swimming. What are your hobbies?
wǒ　bù　xǐ　huɑn　yóu　yǒnɡ　 wǒ　xǐ　huɑn　liàn　tài　jí　quán
我　 不　喜　 欢　　游　 泳。　我　喜　 欢　　练　太　极　 拳。
I don't like swimming. I like practising Taiji.
Dialogue Two

nǐ　zài　huà　huà　mɑ
你　在　 画　 画　 吗？
Are you drawing a picture?
bù　wǒ　zài　liàn　shū　fǎ
不。我　 在　 练　 书　 法。
ɡāo qiánɡ　nǐ　pínɡ　shí　xǐ　huɑn　zuò　shén　me
高　强，　你　 平　 时　喜　 欢　　做　　什　 么？
No. I'm practising calligraphy. What do you usually like to do, Gao Qiang?
wǒ　xǐ　huɑn　huá　bīnɡ　pá　shān　hé　dǎ　lán　qiú
我　喜　 欢　　滑　 冰、　爬　 山　 和　 打　篮　 球。
I like skating, climing mountains and playing basketball.
Explanation of difficult points


1. 在
"在"(zài) meaning "right now", refers to the phrase "正在"(zhèng zài, "正" has the same meaning as in Lesson 6.

2. 画画
In "画画"(huà huà) the former "画"(huà) is a verb, meaning "to paint/draw", and the latter is a noun, meaning "painting/portrait". "画画" means "to paint paintings/to draw drawings".

3. 打
"打"(dǎ) here means "to play"(sports played with a ball), but the verb "打" is also used in other terms.