Breakdown of El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito en casa.
Questions & Answers about El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito en casa.
In Spanish, when you talk about things in general, you almost always use the definite article (el, la, los, las).
- El ajedrez es difícil. = Chess (in general) is difficult.
- Me gusta el café. = I like coffee (in general).
So El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito literally means The chess is my favorite hobby, but in normal English we drop the and simply say Chess is my favorite hobby.
If you say Ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito, it sounds wrong to native speakers. You need the article here.
Yes. In Spanish, every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine or feminine. It’s not about real-world gender; it’s just a property of the word.
- el ajedrez → masculine
- la música → feminine
- el fútbol → masculine
- la natación → feminine
You must match the article with the noun’s gender:
- el ajedrez (not la ajedrez)
- mi pasatiempo favorito (masculine) because pasatiempo is masculine
- mi actividad favorita (feminine) because actividad is feminine
There’s no logical reason why chess is masculine; it’s simply how the language works.
Ser (es) is used for identities, inherent characteristics, and classifications. Here, the sentence is saying what chess is to you: your favorite hobby.
Use ser in patterns like:
- X es Y. → Chess is my favorite hobby.
- El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito.
- La música es mi pasión.
- El fútbol es un deporte muy popular.
Use estar for temporary states or locations:
- Estoy en casa. = I am at home.
- El café está frío. = The coffee is (currently) cold.
So El ajedrez está mi pasatiempo favorito would be incorrect here.
In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives come after the noun:
- un libro interesante = an interesting book
- una película divertida = a fun movie
- mi pasatiempo favorito = my favorite hobby
Favorito is a descriptive adjective, so the natural order is:
mi pasatiempo favorito
If you say mi favorito pasatiempo, it sounds unnatural, almost like you’re copying English word order. There are a few adjectives that can go before the noun for emphasis or style, but favorito normally goes after.
All three can be related, but they’re used a bit differently:
pasatiempo = pastime / hobby (very common and neutral)
- Leer es mi pasatiempo favorito.
hobby = borrowed from English; used in informal speech, but less “Spanish”:
- El ajedrez es mi hobby. (people will understand, but pasatiempo or afición sound more native)
afición = interest / hobby (often implies you’re really into it)
- Tengo afición por el ajedrez.
- Mi principal afición es el ajedrez.
In your sentence, pasatiempo is the most natural everyday choice.
En casa in this context means at home, not necessarily literally inside the building.
- El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito en casa.
→ Chess is my favorite hobby at home.
Compare:
- en casa = at home (general, where you live)
- en la casa = in the house (more literal, “inside the house”)
- en mi casa = at my house / in my house (emphasizes that it’s your place)
If you say:
- El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito en mi casa.
…it’s understandable, but it sounds like you’re contrasting your house with someone else’s. The neutral idea “at home” is simply en casa.
Yes.
- El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito.
→ Chess is my favorite hobby. (in general)
Adding en casa narrows it down:
- El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito en casa.
→ At home, chess is my favorite hobby (maybe outside the home you have other hobbies).
So en casa is optional and just adds context.
Mi and mío both mean my, but they are used differently.
Mi is a possessive adjective, and it comes before a noun:
- mi pasatiempo favorito = my favorite hobby
- mi casa = my house
- mi libro = my book
Mío is a possessive pronoun (or a stressed possessive) and usually comes after the noun or stands alone:
- Este pasatiempo es mío. = This hobby is mine.
- Ese libro es mío. = That book is mine.
- un pasatiempo mío = a hobby of mine
So:
- mi pasatiempo favorito ✅
- mío pasatiempo favorito ❌ (incorrect)
Your original sentence is already natural, especially in context:
- El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito en casa.
For the general idea (without specifying “at home”), common options are:
- El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito.
- Mi pasatiempo favorito es el ajedrez.
Both are very natural across Latin America. The difference is just word order and emphasis:
El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito.
→ Slight emphasis on “chess”.Mi pasatiempo favorito es el ajedrez.
→ Slight emphasis on “my favorite hobby”.
For this specific sentence, there is no important difference between Latin American Spanish and Peninsular (Spain) Spanish. All of these sound natural in both:
- El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito.
- El ajedrez es mi pasatiempo favorito en casa.
- Mi pasatiempo favorito es el ajedrez.
Regional variation would show up more in other vocabulary (for example, sports or slang), but ajedrez, pasatiempo, and en casa are standard everywhere.
Ajedrez is pronounced roughly:
- a-heh-DREZ
Details:
- a = like a in father
- j = a hard h sound (like the ch in German Bach)
- e = like e in get
- dr = a fast d
- a light tap of r
- z in most of Latin America sounds like s in see
Stress:
Because ajedrez ends in z (a consonant other than n or s), the natural stress is on the last syllable:
a-je-DREZ
There is no written accent mark on ajedrez.