Watching and Talking About Sports in Chinese

A match on the TV is an easy way into a conversation in China, especially during the World Cup or the Olympics. These are the words for teams, scores and results, plus what people shout at the screen.

Match Vocabulary

• 比赛 bǐsài — match; competition
• 球队 qiúduì — team (in a ball sport)
• 球员 qiúyuán — player
• 球迷 qiúmí — fan (of a ball sport)
• 比分 bǐfēn — score
• 进球 jìnqiú — to score a goal; a goal
• 赢 yíng — to win
• 输 shū — to lose
• 平局 píngjú — a draw; a tie
• 裁判 cáipàn — referee
• 决赛 juésài — final
• 冠军 guànjūn — champion
• 直播 zhíbō — live broadcast
• 世界杯 Shìjièbēi — the World Cup
• 奥运会 Àoyùnhuì — the Olympic Games

What People Say During a Match

• 加油！ Jiāyóu! — Come on! / Go!
  Literally "add oil". You shout it at a match, and you also say it to anyone facing an exam, a job interview or a long day.
• 今晚有比赛，一起看吗？ Jīnwǎn yǒu bǐsài, yìqǐ kàn ma? — There's a match tonight. Want to watch it together?
• 你支持哪个队？ Nǐ zhīchí nǎge duì? — Which team do you support?
• 现在几比几？ Xiànzài jǐ bǐ jǐ? — What's the score?
  Scores are read with 比 bǐ: 二比一 èr bǐ yī is 2–1. A draw at one goal each is 一比一 yī bǐ yī.
• 进了！ Jìn le! — Goal! (It's in!)
• 我们赢了！ Wǒmen yíng le! — We won!
• 打平了。 Dǎ píng le. — It ended in a draw.
• 太可惜了！ Tài kěxī le! — What a shame! / So close!
• 这个裁判不公平。 Zhège cáipàn bù gōngpíng. — This referee isn't fair.
• 他们输得很惨。 Tāmen shū de hěn cǎn. — They lost badly.

Winning and Losing Against Someone

赢 yíng takes the other team straight after it. 输 shū needs 给 gěi in between, which learners often leave out.

我们赢了他们。 Wǒmen yíngle tāmen. (We beat them.)
我们输给了他们。 Wǒmen shū gěile tāmen. (We lost to them.)
中国队二比零赢了。 Zhōngguó duì èr bǐ líng yíng le. (China won 2–0.)

Sports in Chinese → · At the Gym in Chinese → · Chinese Small Talk →