Olympics in Chinese 🥇 LTL’s Ultimate Vocabulary Guide

Discover Everything About The Olympics in Chinese

Olympic Games in Chinese

The Olympic Games are an event no one can miss, unless you live in a cave!

Who doesn’t like to watch a competition and cheer for one’s own country to win?

In this article, you’re going to learn some general and specific vocabulary about sports from the Olympics in Chinese.

You’ll then be able to talk about the Olympic Games with your Chinese friends!

So, what are you waiting for… Ready, Steady, Go!

#1 Olympics in Chinese – The Basics

The first thing to learn is how to say Olympic Games in Mandarin:

Olympic Games 奥林匹克运动会 – àolínpǐkè yùndònghuì

Even though people normally just call them 奥运会 (ào yùn huì) for short.

Here are a few more vocabulary for Olympics in Chinese before we dive into the sports in more details

According to tradition, the Olympic Torch 奥运会的圣火 (àoyùnhuì de shènghuǒ) is a flame that marks the start of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Flag 奥运会会旗 (àoyùnhuìhuìqí), which is hung to fly in the main stadium as well as in all other venues during the Games, is white with five interlaced rings in the center – these are called the Olympic Rings 奥运会五环 (àoyùnhuìwǔhuán).

The opening ceremony of the Olympics in Chinese is called 奥运会开幕式 (àoyùnhuì kāimù shì).

👉 DID YOU KNOW – For the Olympics 2016, the ceremony took place on the evening of Friday 5 August in the Maracanã Stadium 马拉卡纳体育场 (Mǎ lā kǎ nà tǐyùchǎng), in Rio de Janeiro.







Get ready for the 28 sports included on the program of the Olympic Games!

#2 Olympics in Chinese – Ball Games

First things first, all the sports including a ball 🏀

足球 (zúqiú) – Football

(zúqiú) – Football 网球 (wǎngqiú) – Tennis

(wǎngqiú) – Tennis 七人制橄榄球 (qī rén zhì gǎnlǎnqiú) – Rugby sevens

(qī rén zhì gǎnlǎnqiú) – Rugby sevens 高尔夫 (gāo’ěrfū) – Golf

(gāo’ěrfū) – Golf 曲棍球 (qūgùnqiú) – Field hockey

(qūgùnqiú) – Field hockey 羽毛球 (yǔmáoqiú) – Badminton

(yǔmáoqiú) – Badminton 手球 (shǒuqiú) – Handball

(shǒuqiú) – Handball 排球 (páiqiú) – Volleyball

(páiqiú) – Volleyball 乒乓球 (pīngpāng qiú) – Table Tennis

(pīngpāng qiú) – Table Tennis 篮球 (lánqiú) – Basketball

What’s your favourite?







#3 Olympics in Chinese – Aquatic Games

Even though all these sports are related to water, you’ll rarely see the character for water 水 (shuǐ) in their names. Have a look:

游泳 (yóuyǒng) – Swimming

(yóuyǒng) – Swimming 花样游泳 (huāyàng yóuyǒng) – Synchronised Swimming

(huāyàng yóuyǒng) – Synchronised Swimming 跳水 (tiàoshuǐ) – Diving

水球 (shuǐqiú) – Water polo

(shuǐqiú) – Water polo 皮划艇 (pí huá tǐng) – Canoe/ Kayak

(pí huá tǐng) – Canoe/ Kayak 赛艇 (sài tǐng) – Rowing

(sài tǐng) – Rowing 帆船 (fānchuán) – Sailing







That’s not the end!

The Olympic Games include many more sports, and lucky for you, we translated them all:

#4 Olympics in Chinese – Other Sports

田径 (tiánjìng) – Athletics

(tiánjìng) – Athletics 自行车 (zìxíngchē) – Cycling

(zìxíngchē) – Cycling 体操 (tǐcāo) – Gymnastics

(tǐcāo) – Gymnastics 马术 (mǎshù) – Equestrian

(mǎshù) – Equestrian 射箭 (shèjiàn) – Archery

(shèjiàn) – Archery 射击 (shèjī) – Shooting

(shèjī) – Shooting 击剑 (jījiàn) – Fencing

举重 (jǔzhòng) – Weightlifting

(jǔzhòng) – Weightlifting 拳击 (quánjī) – Boxing

(quánjī) – Boxing 柔道 (róudào) – Judo

(róudào) – Judo 摔跤 (shuāijiāo) – Wrestling

(shuāijiāo) – Wrestling 跆拳道 (táiquándào) – Taekwondo

(táiquándào) – Taekwondo 现代五项 (xiàndài wǔ xiàng) – Modern pentathlon

(xiàndài wǔ xiàng) – Modern pentathlon 铁人三项(tiěrén sān xiàng) – Triathlon













#5 Olympics in Chinese – Specific Vocabulary

Now that you know the names of all the Olympic Sports in Chinese, you just need to learn these other few words to watch and comment on the games with your Chinese friends:

运动员 (yùndòngyuán) – Athlete

(yùndòngyuán) – Athlete 比赛 (bǐsài) – Match, Competition

(bǐsài) – Match, Competition 裁判员 (cáipàn yuán) – Referee, Judge

(cáipàn yuán) – Referee, Judge 规则 (guīzé) – Rules

(guīzé) – Rules 金牌 (jīnpái) – Gold medal

(jīnpái) – Gold medal 银牌 (yínpái) – Silver medal

(yínpái) – Silver medal 铜牌 (tóngpái) – Bronze medal

(tóngpái) – Bronze medal 残奥会 (cán ào huì) – Paralympic Games

In conclusion, I want to make sure you know how to support your team properly.

So when the athletes enter the Olympic stadium, no matter if you are at home or in the hosting country, get ready to cheer them up by saying “加油，加油！” (jiāyóu) which literally means “to add oil” …

But wait, we need to know how to cheer on our nation in Chinese also, right? Check out our list of countries in Chinese so you know how to say your home country!

GO TEAM! 💪







#6 Olympics in Chinese – FAQ’s

How do you say Olympic Games in Chinese? Olympic Games in Chinese is 奥林匹克运动会 – àolínpǐkè yùndònghuì

or 奥运会 (àoyùnhuì) for short. How do you say Paralympic Games in Chinese? Paralympic Games in Chinese is 残奥会 – cán ào huì How do you say Olympic Torch in Chinese? Olympic Torch is Chinese is 奥运会的圣火 – àoyùnhuì de shènghuǒ How do you say Olympic Rings in Chinese? Olympic Rings in Chinese is 奥运会五环 – àoyùnhuì wǔhuán When was the last Olympic Games in China? The last Olympic Games hosted by China were the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.



The event was held in Beijing from the 8th to 24th of August 2008.

The sailing events took place in Qingdao, while football events happened across several cities. When will be the next Olympic Games in China? The next Olympic Games in China will be the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.



The events will take place in Beijing, and the neighbouring cities from Hebei province, from the 4th to 20th February 2022.





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