Sports in Japanese
Let’s get warmed up and ready to talk about sports in Japanese!
Everyone has their favorite sport and most countries tend to have favorite national sports. America is the home of baseball for example. The national sport of Japan is sumo wrestling but the Japanese are also particularly fond of baseball, or 野球 (yakyū).
Resources for further reading:
Sports in Japanese
There are an endless number of sports to talk about but in this lesson, we’ll go over the most common ones. On your mark, get set, go!
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
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野球
やきゅう
Yakyū
Baseball
サッカー
サッカー
Sakkā
Soccer
バスケット ボール
バスケット ボール
Basuketto bōru
Basketball
クリケット
クリケット
Kuriketto
Cricket
ラグビー
ラグビー
Ragubī
Rugby
フィールド ホッケー
フィールド ホッケー
Fīrudo hokkē
Field hockey
テニス
テニス
Tenisu
Tennis
ハンド ボール
ハンド ボール
Hando bōru
Handball
バレー ボール
バレー ボール
Barē bōru
Volleyball
卓球
たっきゅう
Takkyū
Table tennis
ゴルフ
ゴルフ
Gorufu
Golf
水泳
すいえい
Suiei
Swimming
ジョギング
ジョギング
Jogingu
Jogging
アイス ホッケー
アイス ホッケー
Aisu hokkē
Ice hockey
バドミントン
バドミントン
Badominton
Badminton
スキー
スキー
Sukī
Skiing
ボート漕ぎ / 漕艇
ボートこぎ / そうてい
Bōtokogi / sōtei
Rowing
カヤック
カヤック
Kayakku
Kayaking
フィギュア スケート
フィギュア スケート
Figyua sukēto
Figure skating
ボクシング
ボクシング
Bokushingu
Boxing
The Japanese are also well known for different martial arts or wrestling sports. Here are a few that you might have heard of before:
相撲
すもう
Sumō
Sumo
プロレス
プロレス
Puroresu
Professional wrestling
空手
からて
Karate
Karate
合気道
あいきどう
Aikidō
Aikido
剣道
けんどう
Kendō
Kendo
柔道
じゅうどう
Jūdō
Judo
When making conversation with a new Japanese speaking friend, you may want to ask the following questions...
スポーツは好きですか?
スポーツ は すき です か?
Supōtsu wa sukidesu ka?
Do you like sports?
どのスポーツが好きですか?
どの スポーツ が すき です か?
Dono supōtsu ga sukidesu ka?
Which sports do you like?
何かスポーツをしますか?
なに か スポーツ を します か?
Nani ka supōtsu o shimasu ka?
Do you play any sports?
どのチームを応援しますか?
どの チーム を おうえん します か?
Dono chīmu o ōen shimasu ka?
Which team do you support?
テニス を しません か?
Tenisu o shimasen ka?
Would you like a game of tennis?
Right, I’m getting worn out from all this talk about sports. Time for a water break!
I hope we’ve covered your favorite sport. Next time you are watching or playing your favorite sport, think about it in Japanese. And when you meet a Japanese speaker, strike up a conversation about sports to put your practice to good use!
For more lessons on Japanese vocabulary I recommend these!
- Learn the words and phrases used around the airport in Japanese.
- DIY while in Japan? This lesson covers the essential vocab for tools in Japanese.
- This lesson is all about using a computer in Japanese.
Sayōnara!
Sayaka Matsuura: Rocket Japanese
Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement
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