Chinese Sports Vocabulary — Words for Games and Fitness
Sport is a great way into a language — it's social, it's everywhere, and the words come up the moment you join a game or watch one. This page gathers essential Chinese sports vocabulary, from 团队 (team) and 球 (ball) to 进球 (goal) and 球员 (player), each with its English meaning, its pronunciation and a button to hear it spoken in a native voice. A note for English speakers: notice how Chinese builds words from parts — 球 means "ball", and many sports simply add it, so basketball is "basket-ball" (篮球) and football is "foot-ball" (足球). Spotting these building blocks makes whole groups of words click at once. Mandarin's tones still rule, so let your ears lead, and the grammar stays light — no conjugation, no plurals. Tap any 🔊 to hear the tone, skim the table, then take these into Linguver, where the English word drops and you shoot its Chinese translation from the drum.
Key words explained
- team 团队 Our team won the match in the final minute.
- player 球员 She is the best player on the court.
- ball 球 He kicked the ball over the fence.
- goal 进球 The crowd roared at the last-second goal.
- game 比赛 The game went into extra time.
- run 跑 I try to run three times a week.
- swim 游泳 They swim in the lake every summer.
- football 足球 The kids played football until dark.
All 90 Chinese sports words
| English | Pronunciation | Chinese | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| sport | /spɔːrt/ | 运动 | |
| game | /ɡeɪm/ | 比赛 | |
| team | /tiːm/ | 团队 | |
| player | /ˈpleɪər/ | 球员 | |
| ball | /bɔːl/ | 球 | |
| goal | /ɡoʊl/ | 进球 | |
| win | /wɪn/ | 赢 | |
| lose | /luːz/ | 输 | |
| run | /rʌn/ | 跑 | |
| swim | /swɪm/ | 游泳 | |
| football | /ˈfʊtbɔːl/ | 足球 | |
| basketball | /ˈbæskɪtbɔːl/ | 篮球 | |
| tennis | /ˈtɛnɪs/ | 网球 | |
| swimming | /ˈswɪmɪŋ/ | 游泳运动 | |
| running | /ˈrʌnɪŋ/ | 跑步 | |
| race | /reɪs/ | 比赛 | |
| match | /mætʃ/ | 比赛 | |
| train | /treɪn/ | 训练 | |
| exercise | /ˈɛksərsaɪz/ | 锻炼 | |
| hobby | /ˈhɑːbi/ | 爱好 | |
| coach | /koʊtʃ/ | 教练 | |
| champion | /ˈtʃæmpiən/ | 冠军 | |
| medal | /ˈmɛdəl/ | 奖牌 | |
| stadium | /ˈsteɪdiəm/ | 体育场 | |
| field | /fiːld/ | 场地 | |
| court | /kɔːrt/ | 球场 | |
| cycling | /ˈsaɪklɪŋ/ | 骑自行车 | |
| hiking | /ˈhaɪkɪŋ/ | 徒步旅行 | |
| camping | /ˈkæmpɪŋ/ | 露营 | |
| fishing | /ˈfɪʃɪŋ/ | 钓鱼 | |
| volleyball | /ˈvɑːlibɔːl/ | 排球 | |
| baseball | /ˈbeɪsbɔːl/ | 棒球 | |
| boxing | /ˈbɑːksɪŋ/ | 拳击 | |
| golf | /ɡɑːlf/ | 高尔夫 | |
| skiing | /ˈskiːɪŋ/ | 滑雪 | |
| yoga | /ˈjoʊɡə/ | 瑜伽 | |
| fitness | /ˈfɪtnɪs/ | 健身 | |
| throw | /θroʊ/ | 投掷 | |
| catch | /kætʃ/ | 接住 | |
| hit | /hɪt/ | 击打 | |
| score | /skɔːr/ | 比分 | |
| trophy | /ˈtroʊfi/ | 奖杯 | |
| tournament | /ˈtɜːrnəmənt/ | 锦标赛 | |
| league | /liːɡ/ | 联赛 | |
| referee | /ˌrɛfəˈriː/ | 裁判 | |
| athlete | /ˈæθliːt/ | 运动员 | |
| Olympic | /əˈlɪmpɪk/ | 奥林匹克 | |
| guitar | /ɡɪˈtɑːr/ | 吉他 | |
| piano | /piˈænoʊ/ | 钢琴 | |
| painting | /ˈpeɪntɪŋ/ | 绘画 | |
| reading | /ˈriːdɪŋ/ | 阅读 | |
| photography | /fəˈtɑːɡrəfi/ | 摄影 | |
| travel | /ˈtrævəl/ | 旅行 | |
| pool | /puːl/ | 游泳池 | |
| racket | /ˈrækɪt/ | 球拍 | |
| net | /nɛt/ | 网 | |
| glove | /ɡlʌv/ | 手套 | |
| helmet | /ˈhɛlmɪt/ | 头盔 | |
| uniform | /ˈjuːnɪfɔːrm/ | 队服 | |
| compete | /kəmˈpiːt/ | 竞争 | |
| athletics | /æθˈlɛtɪks/ | 田径 | |
| gymnastics | /dʒɪmˈnæstɪks/ | 体操 | |
| wrestling | /ˈrɛslɪŋ/ | 摔跤 | |
| martial arts | /ˈmɑːrʃəl ɑːrts/ | 武术 | |
| skating | /ˈskeɪtɪŋ/ | 滑冰 | |
| surfing | /ˈsɜːrfɪŋ/ | 冲浪 | |
| climbing | /ˈklaɪmɪŋ/ | 攀岩 | |
| rowing | /ˈroʊɪŋ/ | 划船 | |
| archery | /ˈɑːrtʃəri/ | 射箭 | |
| fencing | /ˈfɛnsɪŋ/ | 击剑 | |
| badminton | /ˈbædmɪntən/ | 羽毛球 | |
| squash | /skwɑːʃ/ | 壁球 | |
| bowling | /ˈboʊlɪŋ/ | 保龄球 | |
| snooker | /ˈsnuːkər/ | 斯诺克 | |
| darts | /dɑːrts/ | 飞镖 | |
| polo | /ˈpoʊloʊ/ | 马球 | |
| judo | /ˈdʒuːdoʊ/ | 柔道 | |
| karate | /kəˈrɑːti/ | 空手道 | |
| cricket | /ˈkrɪkɪt/ | 板球 | |
| rugby | /ˈrʌɡbi/ | 橄榄球 | |
| handball | /ˈhændbɔːl/ | 手球 | |
| sprint | /sprɪnt/ | 短跑 | |
| marathon | /ˈmærəθɑːn/ | 马拉松 | |
| diving | /ˈdaɪvɪŋ/ | 跳水 | |
| weightlifting | /ˈweɪtlɪftɪŋ/ | 举重 | |
| triathlon | /traɪˈæθlɑːn/ | 铁人三项 | |
| umpire | /ˈʌmpaɪər/ | 裁判员 | |
| foul | /faʊl/ | 犯规 | |
| offside | /ˈɔːfsaɪd/ | 越位 | |
| qualifier | /ˈkwɑːlɪfaɪər/ | 资格赛 |
Reading a list won't make these stick. Linguver turns vocabulary into a shooting game — the English word falls, you spin the drum and fire its Chinese translation. You recall the word under a little pressure, so it stays. A way to learn that doesn't feel like studying.
→ Play in Linguver