Sports in Chinese: Names and the Verbs That Go With Them
English uses "play" for almost every sport. Chinese picks the verb by what your body does: you hit a basketball, kick a football, and some sports are verbs all by themselves. Learn the verb with the sport and you won't have to guess.
Which Verb Goes With Which Sport
Most mistakes here come from translating "play" word for word. Pick the verb from this table instead.
| Verb | Used for | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 打 dǎ (hit) | Ball games played with the hands or a racket | 打篮球 dǎ lánqiú, 打网球 dǎ wǎngqiú, 打乒乓球 dǎ pīngpāngqiú |
| 踢 tī (kick) | Ball games played with the feet | 踢足球 tī zúqiú, 踢毽子 tī jiànzi (shuttlecock kicking) |
| 游 yóu (swim) | Swimming and swimming strokes | 游泳 yóuyǒng, 游蛙泳 yóu wāyǒng (breaststroke) |
| 跑 pǎo (run) | Running | 跑步 pǎobù, 跑马拉松 pǎo mǎlāsōng |
| 骑 qí (ride) | Anything you sit astride | 骑自行车 qí zìxíngchē, 骑马 qí mǎ |
| 滑 huá (slide) | Skiing and skating | 滑雪 huáxuě, 滑冰 huábīng |
| 练 liàn (practise) | Disciplines you train in | 练瑜伽 liàn yújiā, 练功夫 liàn gōngfu |
Tai chi takes 打 too: 打太极拳 dǎ tàijíquán. It is a fixed collocation, so learn it as one piece.
Common Sports
- 运动 yùndòng — sport; exercise
- 篮球 lánqiú — basketball
- 足球 zúqiú — football (soccer)
- 乒乓球 pīngpāngqiú — table tennis
- 羽毛球 yǔmáoqiú — badminton
- 网球 wǎngqiú — tennis
- 排球 páiqiú — volleyball
- 游泳 yóuyǒng — swimming; to swim
- 跑步 pǎobù — running; to go for a run
- 爬山 páshān — hiking (literally "climb mountains")
- 滑雪 huáxuě — skiing; to ski
- 瑜伽 yújiā — yoga
- 太极拳 tàijíquán — tai chi
运动 yùndòng covers both "sport" and "exercise". 体育 tǐyù is sport as a subject or an industry, as in 体育课 tǐyù kè (PE class).
Talking About the Sports You Play
- 你喜欢什么运动？ Nǐ xǐhuan shénme yùndòng? — What sports do you like?
- 我每天早上跑步。 Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang pǎobù. — I go running every morning.
- 你会游泳吗？ Nǐ huì yóuyǒng ma? — Can you swim?
会 huì is for a skill you have learned. Use 能 néng for whether you can right now: 今天能游吗？ Jīntiān néng yóu ma? (Can we swim today?) - 周末一起去打篮球吧！ Zhōumò yìqǐ qù dǎ lánqiú ba! — Let's play basketball this weekend!
- 我打得不太好。 Wǒ dǎ de bú tài hǎo. — I don't play very well.
Verb + 得 de + how well: 他踢得很好。Tā tī de hěn hǎo. (He plays football well.) Keep the sport's own verb. - 我踢了十年足球。 Wǒ tīle shí nián zúqiú. — I've played football for ten years.
- 你多久运动一次？ Nǐ duōjiǔ yùndòng yí cì? — How often do you exercise?
- 我一个星期去两次。 Wǒ yí ge xīngqī qù liǎng cì. — I go twice a week.
- 我不太喜欢运动。 Wǒ bú tài xǐhuan yùndòng. — I'm not really into sport.
At the Gym in Chinese → · Watching and Talking About Sports → · Talking About Hobbies →