The Most Common Types of Sports in Chinese

Physical exercise plays a tremendous role in Chinese people’s lives. As the so-called “western lifestyle” has penetrated into young people’s daily lives in China, many of them try to find time to go to the gym after work. In addition, Chinese young people love to talk about different sports events with their friends. In this article, let’s learn how to express some popular types of sports in Chinese.

1. Football

足球
zúqiú
football

VERB:

踢足球
tī zúqiú
to play football

Despite the fact that the Chinese national men’s football team doesn’t enjoy a good reputation in terms of skills and ranking in the “international sports arena”, Chinese young men are passionate about football. Some inveterate football fans can spend hours talking about football after work. 踢足球 (tī zúqiú) is how you’re supposed to say “to play football” in Chinese. When it comes to sports-related Chinese words, the choice of verb depends on which body part you use to play. 踢 (tī) means “to kick”, therefore, the literal meaning of this phrase is “to kick football”.

EXAMPLE:

星期六我和我的朋友去踢足球。
Xīngqīliù wǒ hé wǒ de péngyou qù tī zúqiú.
I’m going to play football with my friends on Saturday.

2. Basketball

篮球
lánqiú
basketball

VERB:

打篮球
dǎ lánqiú
to play basketball

Apart from football, basketball 篮球 (lánqiú) is also prevalent across China. The popularity of NBA among Chinese people is the explicit reflection of their passion for basketball. In China, some fanatic basketball lovers know a lot of background information about famous NBA stars. Unlike football, China has someone to brag about when it comes to basketball. Yao Ming 姚明 (Yáo Míng) used to be one of the most famous basketball players in China and the US. As you might’ve noticed, the verb used in this phrase is 打 (dǎ), which originally means “to hit”.

EXAMPLE:

我的哥哥喜欢打篮球。
Wǒ de gēgē xǐhuān dǎ lánqiú.
My older brother likes playing basketball.

3. Tennis

网球
wǎngqiú
tennis

VERB:

打网球
dǎ wǎngqiú
to play tennis

Tennis is quite popular in many western countries. In China, although tennis courts can be found in most major cities, playing tennis is still considered luxurious. However, more and more young people have started to show their preferences for tennis and they’re willing to spend a “substantial” amount of money to sign up for customized tennis courses. The most interesting character in this phrase is 网 (wǎng), because you should be able to deduce the meaning of this character (which is “net”) by what it looks like.

EXAMPLE:

我不会打网球。
Wǒ bù huì dǎ wǎngqiú.
I can’t play tennis.

4. Swimming

游泳
yóuyǒng
to swim

This word means “to swim”. In China, teenagers are fond of swimming not just because it’s fun, but also because they’re told by their parents that swimming is good for their health. Many Chinese people believe that swimming is an effect way that can help people lose weight.

EXAMPLE:

我的朋友每个星期都去游泳。
Wǒ de péngyou měi gè xīngqī dōu qù yóuyǒng.
My friend goes swimming every week.

5. Table Tennis

乒乓球
pīngpāngqiú
table tennis

VERB:

打乒乓球
dǎ pīngpāngqiú
to play table tennis

It’s worth learning this phrase because not only young people in China enjoy playing table tennis, many middle-aged and even old people are also partial to playing table tennis. Meanwhile, it’s also quite easy to remember this phrase in that table tennis has the same meaning as “ping-pong” in English.

EXAMPLE:

中国人非常喜欢打乒乓球。
Zhōngguórén fēicháng xǐhuān dǎ pīngpāngqiú.
Chinese people really like playing table tennis.

Other Sport Activities:

打排球
dǎ páiqiú
to play volleyball

打羽毛球
dǎ yǔmáoqiú
to play badminton

打高尔夫球
dǎ gāoěrfū
to play golf

跑步
pǎobù
to run

瑜伽
yújiā
yoga

To find out more interesting and useful Chinese vocabulary, check out one of our blog posts 7 Awesome Summer Water Sports Activities in Chinese