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Tā de àihào shì kàn diànyǐng hé tīng yīnyuè.

她Tā　的de　爱好àihào　是shì　看kàn　电影diànyǐng　和hé　听tīng　音乐yīnyuè。Tā de àihào shì kàn diànyǐng hé tīng yīnyuè.
Her hobbies are watching movies and listening to music.
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Questions & Answers about Tā de àihào shì kàn diànyǐng hé tīng yīnyuè.

Why do we use 的 in 她的爱好?

的 is a possessive particle. It links the possessor to what is possessed.

  • 她 = she / her
  • 她的 = her (possessive, “belonging to her”)
  • 爱好 = hobby / hobbies

So 她的爱好 literally means “her hobby / her hobbies”.
Structure: [possessor] + 的 + [thing] → her + 的 + hobby.

Why is 是 used here? Could we leave it out?

是 works like the verb “to be” in this kind of sentence:

  • A 是 B = A is B
  • 她的爱好是看电影和听音乐。
    → Her hobby is watching movies and listening to music.

Here:

  • A = 她的爱好 (her hobby)
  • B = 看电影和听音乐 (watching movies and listening to music)

You normally cannot drop 是 in this structure.
Without 是, 她的爱好看电影和听音乐 is ungrammatical.

Why is 爱好 (hobby) singular in Chinese when she has two hobbies?

Chinese often uses a single general noun where English switches to plural:

  • 她的爱好是看电影和听音乐。
    Literally: Her hobby is watching movies and listening to music.

Even though 爱好 is grammatically singular, the phrase 看电影和听音乐 clearly contains two activities, so the meaning is “her hobbies are…”.

If you really want to show plurality, you can say:

  • 她的爱好有看电影和听音乐。
    (Her hobbies include watching movies and listening to music.)
Do we need a measure word with 爱好 in this sentence?

No, because we are not counting the hobbies here; we’re just stating what they are.

You add a measure word when you say how many:

  • 她有一个爱好。 – She has one hobby.
  • 她有很多爱好。 – She has many hobbies.
  • Common measure words: 个, 项 (more formal).

In 她的爱好是…, 爱好 is used in a general sense, so no measure word is needed.

What’s the difference between 爱好 and 喜欢?

  • 爱好 (àihào) – noun: hobby, pastime, interest

    • 她的爱好是看电影和听音乐。
      Her hobby is watching movies and listening to music.

  • 喜欢 (xǐhuan) – verb: to like

    • 她喜欢看电影和听音乐。
      She likes watching movies and listening to music.

Often, 喜欢 is more natural in casual speech; 爱好 can sound a bit more formal or like a profile/biography item.
Meaning-wise, they overlap, but grammatically 爱好 is a noun; 喜欢 is a verb.

Why are 看 and 听 just in basic form? Where is “to” or “-ing”?

Chinese verbs do not conjugate for tense or form like English verbs.

  • English: to watch / watching
  • Chinese: always 看 (kàn)

Here:

  • 看电影 = (to) watch movies / watching movies
  • 听音乐 = (to) listen to music / listening to music

The exact English form (to watch vs watching) is decided by English grammar, not by any visible change in the Chinese verb.

What is the role of 和 here? Can I use 跟 or 还有 instead?

In this sentence, 和 (hé) simply links two parallel items: 看电影 and 听音乐.

  • 看电影和听音乐 = watching movies and listening to music

You can often replace 和 with 跟 (gēn) in colloquial speech without changing the meaning much:

  • 她的爱好是看电影跟听音乐。 (more casual)

还有 (háiyǒu) literally means “and also / and in addition” and can sound a bit more “list-like”:

  • 她的爱好是看电影，还有听音乐。
    Emphasis: she has one hobby (watching movies), and in addition another (listening to music).

In neutral description, 和 is the most straightforward and natural here.

Why is the order 看电影和听音乐 instead of 看和听电影和音乐?

Chinese usually keeps verb–object pairs together and then coordinates them:

  • Pair 1: 看电影 (watch movies)
  • Pair 2: 听音乐 (listen to music)

Then join the two pairs with 和:

  • 看电影和听音乐

看和听电影和音乐 splits the verbs away from their natural objects and becomes unclear/awkward:

  • Does 看 go with 音乐 too?
  • Does 听 go with 电影?

Native speakers almost always keep them as [verb + object] 和 [verb + object].

Can I say 她的爱好是看电影，听音乐 with a comma instead of 和?

Yes, you’ll see this in writing:

  • 她的爱好是看电影、听音乐。

Using a comma (，) or the listing mark 、 makes it look like a straightforward list:
“Her hobbies are: watching movies, listening to music.”

Differences:

  • …看电影和听音乐。 – Slightly more like a single grouped phrase “watching movies and listening to music”.
  • …看电影、听音乐。 – Visibly two separate items in a list.

Both are correct and natural.

How is 她 (tā) pronounced, and how is it different from 他 / 它?

All three are pronounced tā (first tone), exactly the same:

  • 她 – she / her (female)
  • 他 – he / him (male)
  • 它 – it (animals/objects, though often omitted in speech)

In spoken Mandarin, you can’t hear the difference; context tells you who/what tā refers to. The written character shows the gender or type.

How would I say this sentence in a more natural, everyday way?

The original sentence is fine and correct, but in casual conversation people often use 喜欢:

  • 她喜欢看电影和听音乐。
    She likes watching movies and listening to music.

Or, to sound very natural:

  • 她平时喜欢看电影，也喜欢听音乐。
    In her free time she likes watching movies, and she also likes listening to music.
How do I say this in the negative: “Her hobby is not watching movies and listening to music”?

Use 不是 in place of 是:

  • 她的爱好不是看电影和听音乐。
    Her hobby is not watching movies and listening to music.

If you want to say she doesn’t like those activities:

  • 她不喜欢看电影，也不喜欢听音乐。
    She doesn’t like watching movies, and she doesn’t like listening to music either.