Сын любит мастерить что‑то из картона, хотя иногда ему больше нравится просто играть.

Russian has no articles, so сын can mean son / the son / a son depending on context.

In a standalone sentence like this, сын is often understood as the son or my son if the context makes that obvious. Russian often leaves out possessives when they are easy to infer.

So:

• Сын любит... = The son likes... / My son likes... / Son likes... depending on context

This is very normal in Russian.

Мастерить means something like to make, to craft, to build with your hands, often in a homemade, practical, or playful way.

It is more specific than делать.

• делать = to do / to make in a very general sense
• мастерить = to make or build something by hand, often from simple materials

So in this sentence, любит мастерить что-то из картона suggests the son likes making little things, crafts, models, or homemade objects out of cardboard.

This is a very common Russian pattern:

• любить + infinitive = to like doing something

So:

• сын любит мастерить = the son likes to make/build things
• literally: the son likes to craft

Other examples:

• Я люблю читать. = I like reading / I like to read.
• Она любит готовить. = She likes cooking / She likes to cook.

After любить, the second verb is normally in the infinitive.

Что-то means something.

So:

• мастерить что-то = to make something

It suggests the object is unspecified or unimportant. The speaker is not naming exactly what he makes; the point is just that he likes making things.

Compare:

• мастерить что-то из картона = to make something out of cardboard
• мастерить игрушки из картона = to make toys out of cardboard

The first is vaguer and more natural if the exact things do not matter.

Because the preposition из usually requires the genitive case.

• картон = nominative
• картона = genitive

So:

• из картона = out of cardboard / from cardboard

This is a standard pattern:

• из дерева = out of wood
• из бумаги = out of paper
• из пластика = out of plastic

So что-то из картона literally means something from cardboard, but in natural English that is usually something out of cardboard or something made of cardboard.

Хотя means although, though, or sometimes even though.

It introduces a contrast:

• Сын любит мастерить что-то из картона, хотя иногда ему больше нравится просто играть.

This means:

• He likes making things out of cardboard,
• although sometimes he prefers simply to play.

So хотя connects two ideas that partly contrast with each other.

This is because нравиться works differently from English to like.

In Russian, the structure is closer to:

• Something is pleasing to someone

So:

• ему нравится играть literally = playing is pleasing to him naturally = he likes playing

Here:

• ему is dative = to him
• нравится = is pleasing / is liked
• играть is the thing that is pleasing to him

That is why Russian uses ему, not он.

Compare:

• Мне нравится музыка. = I like music.
• literally: Music pleases me.

Yes. Больше нравится means likes more or more naturally prefers.

So:

• ему больше нравится просто играть = he likes just playing more = he prefers just playing

This is a common way to express preference in Russian.

Compare:

• Мне больше нравится чай. = I prefer tea.
• Ей больше нравится читать, чем смотреть телевизор. = She prefers reading to watching TV.

So in your sentence, больше marks comparison: sometimes he prefers playing over crafting.

Because after нравится, when you say someone likes an action, Russian usually uses the infinitive.

So:

• ему нравится играть = he likes to play / he likes playing

Not:

• ему нравится играет ❌

This is similar to любить + infinitive:

• любит мастерить
• нравится играть

Both verbs are followed by infinitives when the thing liked is an action.

Here просто means just or simply.

• просто играть = just play / simply play

It gives the idea that instead of making or building something, sometimes he prefers the simpler activity of just playing.

So the contrast is roughly:

• making things out of cardboard vs.
• just playing

Both word orders are possible in Russian.

Russian word order is more flexible than English, and word order often reflects emphasis rather than strict grammar rules.

In this sentence:

• хотя иногда ему больше нравится просто играть

placing иногда early helps emphasize sometimes as the contrast point.

You could also say:

• хотя ему иногда больше нравится просто играть

That is also grammatical, but the nuance of emphasis changes slightly.

Russian often moves adverbs like иногда around more freely than English does.

Yes. In this construction, the thing being liked is the infinitive phrase играть.

Russian treats an infinitive as a singular idea, so the verb is singular:

• ему нравится играть = he likes playing

Compare:

• ему нравится играть = singular
• ему нравятся игры = plural, because игры is plural noun

So:

• нравится is used with a single action or a singular noun
• нравятся is used with plural things

It is grammatically singular in form, because что-то literally means something, but in practice it can be quite general.

In a sentence like this, it often means:

• some kind of thing
• something or other
• various little things

So even though the form is singular, the real-world meaning can be broad and general. It does not force the interpretation that he makes only one object.

That is very natural in both Russian and English:

• He likes making something out of cardboard can also imply a general hobby, not one single item only.

Yes, depending on context, that is a good natural translation.

Possible translations include:

• to make something out of cardboard
• to build things out of cardboard
• to do crafts with cardboard
• to make cardboard crafts

The best translation depends on tone:

• make something out of cardboard is closest to the Russian wording
• do crafts with cardboard sounds very natural in English if you want to describe the activity more generally

So the Russian does not have to refer to serious construction; it can easily describe a child making simple handmade things.