Mandarin Chinese Vocabulary: Olympic Games

The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games are well under way and the excitement is heating up as the medals start pouring in.

The Olympics is an excellent conversation topic to discuss with your Chinese friends, tutor or language exchange partner.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few useful Chinese Mandarin vocabulary words that will help you hold up a conversation about the Olympic Games.

Olympic Games

奥运会
Àoyùnhuì

This is short for:

Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì
奥林匹克运动会

Olympic flag; Five-ring flag

五环旗
Wǔhuánqí

Opening Ceremony

开幕式
kāimùshì

Tokyo

东京
Dōngjīng

Torchbearer (athlete carrying the Olympic flame)

火炬手
huǒjùshǒu

Athlete

运动员
yùndòngyuán

Medal

奖牌
jiǎngpái

Gold medal

金牌
jīnpái

Silver medal

银牌
yínpái

Bronze medal

铜牌
tóngpái

Competition; Match

比赛
bǐsài

Swimming

游泳
yóuyǒng

Tennis

网球
wǎngqiú

Rugby

橄榄球
gǎnlǎnqiú

Basketball

篮球
lánqiú

Surfing

冲浪运动
chōnglàng yùndòng

Archery

射箭
shèjiàn

Gymnastics

体操
tǐcāo

Badminton

羽毛球
yǔmáoqiú

Athletics

田径
tiánjìng

Equestrian sport

马术运动
mǎ shù yùn dòng

Have you been following the Olympics? What are some vocabulary words you can add to the list?