Olympics in Chinese 🥇 LTL’s Ultimate Vocabulary Guide

Discover Everything About The Olympics in Chinese // Get Ready for Paris 2024

Olympics in Chinese
Olympic Games in Chinese

No matter which country you’re rooting for, the Olympic Games are an event no one can miss!

In this article, you’re going to learn all the key vocabulary about sports from the Olympics in Chinese.

Then you’ll be able to talk about the Olympic Games with your Chinese friends!

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

Olympics in Chinese || The Basics

Olympics in Chinese || Ball Games

Olympics in Chinese || Aquatic Games

Olympics in Chinese || Other Sports

Olympics in Chinese || Specific Vocabulary

Olympics in Chinese || Paris 2024 New Sports

Olympics in Chinese || FAQs

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’s more vocabulary for the Olympics in Chinese before we dive into the sports in more detail ⬇️

🥇 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 centre – 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 || The 2024 Olympics will be hosted in Paris and will start on July 26th

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

Olympics in Chinese || Ball Games

First things first, all the sports including a ball 🏀

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Football 足球 zúqiú
Tennis 网球 wǎngqiú
Rugby Sevens 七人制橄榄球 qī rén zhì gǎnlǎnqiú
Golf 高尔夫 gāo’ěrfū
Field hockey 曲棍球 qūgùnqiú
Badminton 羽毛球 yǔmáoqiú
Handball 手球 shǒuqiú
Volleyball 排球 páiqiú
Table Tennis 乒乓球 pīngpāng qiú
Basketball 篮球 lánqiú

What’s your favourite? Let us know in the comments!

Olympics in Chinese

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:

EnglishChinesepinyin
Swimming 游泳 yóuyǒng
Synchronised Swimming 花样游泳 huāyàng yóuyǒng
Diving 跳水 tiàoshuǐ
Water polo 水球 shuǐqiú
Canoe/Kayak 皮划艇 pí huá tǐng
Rowing 赛艇 sài tǐng
Sailing 帆船 fānchuán
Olympics in Chinese

That’s not the end!

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

Olympics in Chinese || Other Sports

EnglishChinesepinyin
Athletics 田径 tiánjìng
Cycling 自行车 zìxíngchē
BMX Racing 小轮车竞速 xiǎo lún chē qí xíng
Gymnastics 体操 tǐcāo
Equestrian 马术 mǎshù
Archery 射箭 shèjiàn
Shooting 射击 shèjī
Fencing 击剑 jījiàn
Weightlifting 举重 jǔzhòng
Boxing 拳击 quánjī
Judo 柔道 róudào
Wrestling 摔跤 shuāijiāo
Taekwondo 跆拳道 táiquándào
Modern pentathlon 现代五项 xiàndài wǔ xiàng
Triathlon 铁人三项 tiěrén sān xiàng
Olympics in Chinese

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:

EnglishChinesePinyin
Athlete 运动员 yùndòngyuán
Match, Competition 比赛 bǐsài
Referee, Judge 裁判员 cáipàn yuán
Rules 规则 guīzé
Gold medal 金牌 jīnpái
Silver medal 银牌 yínpái
Bronze medal 铜牌 tóngpái
Paralympic Games 残奥会 cán ào huì

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 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! 💪


Olympics in Chinese || Paris 2024 New Sports

At every Olympic Games, new sports are added into the mix.

This year, for example, breaking (or breakdancing) is making its Olympic debut.

Newer sports like surfing, sport climbing and skateboarding will also be making a return – even though the surfing will actually take place over 9000 miles away in French Polynesia!

Here’s a list of the new (and newish!) sports you can expect to see in Paris this year:

EnglishMandarinPinyin
Breaking (Breakdancing)霹雳舞pīlì wǔ
Surfing衝浪chōnglàng
Skateboarding滑板huábǎn
Sport Climbing运动攀岩yùndòng pānyán
94 Countries in Chinese 🌏 What Are Their Literal Translations? Thumbnail

94 Countries in Chinese 🌏 What Are Their Literal Translations?

Discover how to say 94 country names in Chinese and what the literal translations are. There are some funny ones!

Olympics in Chinese || FAQs

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 is the 2024 Olympics?

The 2024 Summer Olympics, also known as the Olympic Games Paris 2024, will be held from the 26th.

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.

Want more from LTL?

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Come and check it out free of charge and see what you think!

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  6. Rina
    Reply

    Fabulous resource! Can you also provide a list of the new Olympic sports to be added this year in Paris? Breaking, Sport Climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding. Also, would the BMX events be classed under ‘cycling’ or have its own category?

    1. Hannah
      Reply

      Hi Rina, thanks for your comment! Well spotted, we’ve added a ‘New Sports for 2024’ section to cover the new vocab 😁 and BMX biking is actually 小轮车竞速 (xiǎo lún chē jìng sù), we’ve added this below cycling. Hope you have fun watching the Olympics – and discussing it in Chinese!

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