German · A1 · Family moment
Fun After School in German
Talk about activities you enjoy doing with your child. In German, use a present-tense verb with gern to say what you like doing.
What you'll learn
- Say which activities you enjoy.
- Use gern to express “like doing.”
- Use mit dir to say “with you” when speaking to your child.
German phrases for fun after school
Ich lese gern mit dir.
I like reading with you.
Lese comes from lesen, meaning “to read.” Mit dir means “with you.”
Ich zeichne gern Tiere.
I like drawing animals.
Zeichnen means “to draw.” Tiere is the plural of das Tier, “animal.”
Ich male gern Bilder.
I like painting pictures.
Malen means “to paint” and can also describe drawing or coloring. Bilder means “pictures.”
Ich spiele gern Fußball.
I like playing football.
Fußball means football, or soccer in American English. No article is needed here.
Ich fahre gern mit meinem Fahrrad.
I like riding my bike.
German uses fahren for riding a bike. Mit meinem Fahrrad means “on my bike” here.
Ich schwimme gern.
I like swimming.
Schwimme comes from schwimmen, meaning “to swim.”
Ich bastle gern.
I like making things.
Basteln means making things as a craft activity, such as paper decorations.
Ich spiele gern mit dir.
I like playing with you.
Use mit dir when talking to one child or another person you address informally.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
gern
with pleasure; like doing
Use it with a verb to show enjoyment. Gerne means the same thing.
mit dir
with you
Dir is the form of informal singular “you” used after mit.
das Tier
animal
Plural: die Tiere.
das Bild
picture
Plural: die Bilder.
der Fußball
football; soccer
Fußball spielen means “to play football.”
das Fahrrad
bicycle; bike
Fahrrad fahren means “to ride a bike.”
basteln
to make things; to do crafts
The ich form used here is ich bastle.
Saying “I like doing something”
Use Ich + a present-tense verb + gern. Unlike English, German does not need a separate verb meaning “like” in this pattern.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Activity only | Ich + verb + gern. | Ich schwimme gern. — I like swimming. |
| Activity with an object | Ich + verb + gern + object. | Ich zeichne gern Tiere. — I like drawing animals. |
| Activity with someone | Ich + verb + gern + mit dir. | Ich lese gern mit dir. — I like reading with you. |
Useful forms for “I”
Many verbs form the ich version by replacing -en with -e. Learn the whole phrase aloud to make the pattern familiar.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Read | lesen → ich lese | Ich lese gern. — I like reading. |
| Play | spielen → ich spiele | Ich spiele gern Fußball. — I like playing football. |
| Ride | fahren → ich fahre | Ich fahre gern Fahrrad. — I like riding a bike. |
More examples
Ich zeichne gern mit dir.
I like drawing with you.
Add mit dir to make the activity something you share.
Ich male gern Tiere.
I like painting animals.
Swap Bilder for Tiere to say what you enjoy painting.
Ich bastle gern mit dir.
I like doing crafts with you.
A warm phrase to use during a shared craft activity.