Here are Chinese words for sports to start with: 篮球 (lán qiú, basketball), 足球 (zú qiú, football), 进球 (jìn qiú, goal), 玩 (wán, play). Below are 64 words (A1–C1) with their English translations, part of speech and a romanization to help you say them, across 8 themed lists.
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| basketball | 篮球lán qiú | noun | A1 |
| fan | 球迷qiú mí | noun | A1 |
| field | 场地chǎng dì | noun | A1 |
| football | 足球zú qiú | noun | A1 |
| goal | 进球jìn qiú | noun | A1 |
| play | 玩wán | verb | A1 |
| run | 跑pǎo | verb | A1 |
| tennis | 网球wǎng qiú | noun | A1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| ball | 球qiú | noun | A1 |
| game | 比赛bǐ sài | noun | A1 |
| player | 球员qiú yuán | noun | A1 |
| swimming | 游泳yóu yǒng | noun | A1 |
| team | 球队qiú duì | noun | A1 |
| running | 跑步pǎo bù | noun | A2 |
| training | 训练xùn liàn | noun | A2 |
| agility | 敏捷性mǐn jié xìng | noun | B1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| exercise | 运动yùn dòng | noun | A2 |
| match | 比赛bǐ sài | noun | B1 |
| formidable | 强大的qiáng dà de | adj | B2 |
| perseverance | 毅力yì lì | noun | B2 |
| qualifier | 预选赛yù xuǎn sài | noun | B2 |
| wildcard | 外卡wài kǎ | noun | B2 |
| win | 赢yíng | verb | B2 |
| athleticism | 运动能力yùn dòng néng lì | noun | C1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| baseball | 棒球bàng qiú | noun | A1 |
| volleyball | 排球pái qiú | noun | A1 |
| hockey | 曲棍球qū gùn qiú | noun | A2 |
| shoot | 射门shè mén | verb | A2 |
| assist | 助攻zhù gōng | noun | B1 |
| defender | 后卫hòu wèi | noun | B1 |
| goalkeeper | 守门员shǒu mén yuán | noun | B1 |
| handball | 手球shǒu qiú | noun | B1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| skiing | 滑雪huá xuě | noun | A2 |
| surfing | 冲浪chōng làng | noun | A2 |
| table tennis | 乒乓球pīng pāng qiú | noun | A2 |
| diving | 跳水tiào shuǐ | noun | B1 |
| martial arts | 武术wǔ shù | noun | B1 |
| biathlon | 冬季两项dōng jì liǎng xiàng | noun | B2 |
| fencing | 击剑jī jiàn | noun | B2 |
| triathlon | 铁人三项tiě rén sān xiàng | noun | B2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| serve | 发球fā qiú | verb | A2 |
| knockout | 击倒jī dào | noun | B1 |
| umpire | 裁判cái pàn | noun | B1 |
| birdie | 小鸟球xiǎo niǎo qiú | noun | B2 |
| bogey | 柏忌bǎi jì | noun | B2 |
| handicap | 差点chà diǎn | noun | B2 |
| standings | 积分榜jī fēn bǎng | noun | B2 |
| sudden death | 骤死赛zhòu sǐ sài | noun | B2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| snowboarding | 单板滑雪dān bǎn huá xuě | noun | A2 |
| bungee jumping | 蹦极bèng jí | noun | B1 |
| kayaking | 皮划艇pí huá tǐng | noun | B1 |
| paragliding | 滑翔伞huá xiáng sǎn | noun | B1 |
| rock climbing | 攀岩pān yán | noun | B1 |
| skydiving | 跳伞tiào sǎn | noun | B1 |
| windsurfing | 风帆冲浪fēng fān chōng làng | noun | B1 |
| base jumping | 定点跳伞dìng diǎn tiào sǎn | noun | B2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| club | 球杆qiú gān | noun | A1 |
| basket | 篮筐lán kuāng | noun | A2 |
| bat | 球棒qiú bàng | noun | A2 |
| jersey | 球衣qiú yī | noun | A2 |
| mat | 垫子diàn zi | noun | A2 |
| net | 网wǎng | noun | A2 |
| racket | 球拍qiú pāi | noun | A2 |
| ring | 拳击台quán jī tái | noun | A2 |
Emoji: Twemoji, CC-BY 4.0
Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
These lists show a sample of the A1–C1 words for sports. The packs in Watch Your Language hold more and reach the advanced levels, along with every other topic.
The app shows them to you a few at a time, in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting.
You could start with words like 篮球 (lán qiú, basketball), 足球 (zú qiú, football), 进球 (jìn qiú, goal), 玩 (wán, play). This page lists 64 Chinese words for sports (A1–C1), each with its English translation and part of speech.
Reading a list once is rarely enough. Watch Your Language shows Chinese words like these in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and schedules repeats so the words you keep forgetting come back more often.
Yes. The lists on this page are free to read, with no sign-up. The app holds more words for each topic.