Baseball (called 野球 yakyuu in Japanese) is a hugely popular sport in Japan. Not only is the major league, Nippon Professional Baseball (or 日本野球機構 nihon yakyuu kikou), popular but also high school baseball teams. Every August in Japan features a nationwide baseball tournament among high schools. This event is known as 夏の甲子園 (natsu no koushien) or “Summer Koushien”. “Koushien” refers to the baseball stadium where the finalists battle it out at the Hanshin Koushien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture.

Player Positions:

投手 (toushu) – pitcher

捕手 (hoshu) – catcher

遊撃手 (yuugekishu) – shortstop

一塁手 (ichi-rui shu) – first baseman 二塁手 (ni-rui shu) – second baseman 三塁手 (san-rui shu) – third baseman

指名打者 (shimei-dasha) – designated hitter

左翼手 (sayokushu) – left fielder

中堅手 (chuukenshu) – center fielder

右翼手 (uyokushu) – right fielder

*When it comes to Baseball, in addition to the Japanese words, it is not uncommon to use English terms pronounced in Japanese phonetics or written in katakana.

Locations:

野球場 (yakyuujou) – ballpark

本塁 (hon-rui) – home base 一塁 (ichi-rui) – first base 二塁 (ni-rui) – second base 三塁 (san-rui) – third base

内野 (naiya) – infield

外野 (gaiya) – outfield

左翼 (sayoku) – left field

中堅 (chuuken) – center field

右翼 (uyoku) – right field

Describing Plays:

打席 (daseki) – at bat

安打 (anda) – safe hit

二塁打 (ni-rui da) – double 三塁打 (san-rui da) – triple

本塁打 (hon-rui da) – home run

盗塁 (tourui) – stolen base

得点 (tokuten) – run

打つ (utsu) – to hit

Made-in-Japan Words:

ナイター (naitaa) – a night game

サヨナラゲーム (sayonara geemu) – a home run that ends the game

ノーヒットノーラン (noo hitto noo ran) or ノーノー (noo noo) – a game that ends without either team hitting or scoring

Conversation Starters:

野球（やきゅう）をしますか Yakyuu o shimasu ka? Do you play baseball?



守備位置（しゅびいち）はどこですか Shubi ichi wa doko desu ka? What position do you play?

