Spanish Sports Vocabulary and Conversation for Beginners
Interested in having a conversation about sports in Spanish? Either for small talk with your neighbor, a discussion with your friends, an amateur podcast, you name it!
Whether you want to talk about soccer, football, boxing, or share your impressions on the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympics, I’ve covered it all in this post! Join me to learn useful Spanish sports vocabulary and example sentences to hold a conversation about sports in Spanish.
Names of Sports in Spanish
Sport in Spanish is el deporte. The following are the general categories of sports in Spanish.
- combat sports or martial arts – deportes de combate o artes marciales
- extreme Sports – deportes extremos
- traditional sports or games – deportes tradicionales o juegos
- winter sports – deportes de invierno
Here is some useful Spanish sports vocabulary to start a conversation about sports in Spanish.
- athletes – atletas
- disciplines – disciplinas
- sport venues – sedes deportivas
- sports equipment – equipo deportivo
Sports in Spanish That You Play
This sports in Spanish list is to use with the verb jugar because these sports are considered to be juegos (games) as well. The Spanish translation for “play sports” is not literal, as in jugar deportes, but rather hacer deportes (do sports).
Sports in Spanish List 1
| English | Spanish |
| (American) football | el fútbol americano |
| badminton | el bádminton |
| baseball | el béisbol |
| basketball | el básquetbol, el baloncesto |
| bowling | los bolos o el boliche |
| chess | el ajedrez |
| cricket | el críquet |
| football soccer | el fútbol, el balompié |
| golf | el golf |
| grass hockey | el hockey sobre pasto |
Sports in Spanish List 2
| English | Spanish |
| handball | el balonmano |
| kickball | el kickball |
| polo | el polo |
| racketball | el ráquetbol |
| rugby | el rugby |
| softball | el sóftbol |
| table tennis | el tenis de mesa, el pimpón |
| tennis | el tenis |
| volleyball | el vóleibol |
| waterpolo | el waterpolo, el polo acuático |
Example Sentences
Yo jugaba boliche cuando era niño.
I used to play bowling when I was a child.
Mi hermano juega rugby.
My brother plays rugby.
Jugaremos un partido de fútbol el sábado.
We’ll play a soccer match on Saturday.
FUN FACT! While not very commonly used, the word balompié is the most Spanish way to say football. It comes from joining the word balón (ball) to the word pie (foot). Because of spelling rules, in Spanish the n and the p cannot go together, so we substitute the final “n” in balón and change it for an “m”.
If you are interested in learning how to talk about American football in Spanish, check out How to Talk about U.S. Football in Spanish.
Sports in Spanish That You Practice
To practice sports in Spanish is also important since not all sports are games, some of them are disciplines and you don’t really play a discipline, you rather practice it. For these next ones, make sure to use and conjugate the verb practicar (to practice).
Sports to Practice List
| English | Spanish |
| archery | el tiro con arco |
| athletics | el atletismo |
| canoeing | el piragüismo |
| climbing | alpinismo |
| cyclism | el ciclismo |
| diving | el clavadismo |
| fencing | la esgrima |
| gymnastics | la gimnasia |
| horse riding | la equitación |
| pentathlon | el pentatlón |
| rowing | el remo |
| sailing (sport) | la vela |
| shooting | el tiro |
| swimming | la natación |
| weight lifting | el levantamiento de pesas, la halterofilia |
Example Sentences
Mi padre tiene un caballo y practica equitación.
My dad owns a horse and he practices horseback riding.
Conozco a dos niñas que practican gimnasia.
I know two girls who practice gymnastics.
Yo practico pentatlón.
I practice pentathlon.
PRO TIP! Notice the difference between practico (I practice) and práctico (practical). An accent mark can make all the difference in Spanish.
Combat Sports in Spanish
These sports are not games either, they are disciplines. Whenever you mention any of these sports you can use the following three different verbs.
- To practice (practicar)
- To do (hacer)
- To fight (pelear)
Combat Sports List
| English | Spanish |
| boxing | el boxeo |
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) | el jiu-jitsu brasileño |
| Japanese Jiu-Jitsu | el jiu-jitsu japonés |
| judo | el yudo |
| karate | el karate |
| kickboxing | el kickboxing |
| Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) | las artes marciales mixtas |
| muay thai | el muay thai o el boxeo tailandés |
| taekwondo | el taekwondo |
| wrestling | la lucha |
Example Sentences in Spanish
La pelea de artes marciales mixtas es esta noche.
The mixed martial arts fight is tonight.
Yo estaba en el equipo de lucha cuando estaba en la universidad.
I was on the wrestling team when I was in college.
Mi hermano hace boxeo y es muy bueno.
My brother boxes, and he’s very good at it.
FUN FACT! Boxing has been an Olympic sport since 1904. The only time it didn’t make an appearance in the Olympics was in Stockholm 1912, according to the International Olympics Committee.
Olympic Winter Sports in Spanish
Sadly, not every sport can be practiced in all weather conditions (well, the team from the Cool Runnings movie might not agree with me!). Some sports are exclusive for the parts of the world where it snows. While you might think that winter sports in Spanish speaking countries are not popular, Chile, Argentina, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, and Ecuador participated in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Olympic Winter Sports List
| English | Spanish |
| alpine skiing | el esquí alpino |
| biathlon | el biatlón |
| bobsleigh | el bobsleigh |
| cross-country | el esquí de fondo |
| curling | el curling |
| figure skating | el patinaje artístico |
| freestyle skiing | el esquí acrobático |
| ice hockey | el hockey sobre hielo |
| luge | el luge |
| Nordic combined | la combinada nórdica |
| short track speed skating | el patinaje de velocidad en pista corta |
| ski jumping | el salto de esquí |
| skeleton | el skeleton |
| snowboarding | el snowboard o patinaje sobre nieve |
| speedskating | el patinaje de velocidad |
FUN FACT! The movie “Cool Runnings” has two different translations into Spanish, none of them literal. Latin Americans know it as Jamaica bajo cero (“Jamaica Under Zero”) and Spaniards as Elegidos para el triunfo (“Chosen for triumph”).
If you’re a skii enthusiast and want to learn some specialized vocabulary on it, you ought to check The Ultimate Vocabulary Guide to Skiing in Spanish.
Extreme Sports in Spanish
If chasing after a ball, riding a horse, or avoiding (and throwing) punches and kicks don’t fit your idea of fun or entertainment because they’re full of rules, you’re most likely an extreme sports enthusiast. Here we’ll learn 15 extreme sports vocabulary in Spanish, check it out!
Extreme Sports List
| English | Spanish |
| alpinism | el alpinismo |
| BMX | el BMX (be eme equis) |
| bungee jumping | el puenting, puentismo o salto de bungee |
| climbing | la escalada deportiva |
| longboarding | el descenso en longboard |
| open water swimming | la natación en aguas abiertas |
| parachuting | el paracaidismo |
| paragliding | el parapente |
| parkour | el parkour |
| scuba diving | el buceo |
| skateboarding | el patinaje |
| surfing | el surfeo |
| wakeboarding | el wakeboarding |
| wakesurf | el wakesurf |
| wingsuit flying | el vuelo con traje de viento |
Example Sentences in Spanish
Antes hacía paracaidismo pero me lesioné.
I used to practice parachuting before but I injured myself.
Mi hijo practicará distintos deportes.
My son will practice different sports.
A mi hermano le gusta surfear.
My brother likes to surf.
FUN FACT! There’s an extreme sport called planchado extremo (extreme ironing). According to Team Steam it is “an adrenaline sport which combines the thrill of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt.”
Venues for Sports in Spanish
People play football in a field or a stadium, basketball in a court, golf in a course, fight in a ring and skate pretty much anywhere. All of these words are a huge part of the world of sports and without them our ideas would be simply incomplete. Check out these vocabulary words in Spanish to talk about venues.
Venues in Spanish List
| English | Spanish |
| arena | la arena |
| golf course | el campo de golf |
| octagon | el octágono |
| ring | el cuadrilátero o el ring |
| pool | la piscina |
| park | el parque |
| stadium | el estadio |
| soccer field | el campo de fútbol |
| tennis court | la cancha de tenis |
| track | la pista |
| venue | la sede |
Spanish Sports Equipment Vocabulary
Many sports need equipment. From a simple pair of shorts and sneakers, to rackets, horses, and even cars, and parachutes! In these next two lists I’ve covered the traditional sports equipment and the extreme sports equipment.
Traditional Sports Equipment in Spanish
| English | Spanish |
| bandages | las vendas o el vendaje |
| bathing suit | el traje de baño |
| gloves | los guantes |
| goggles | los gogles, los lentes |
| headband | la banda para la cabeza |
| helmet | el casco |
| jersey | la camisola, el jersey |
| kit | la equipación |
| mouth guard, mouth piece | el protector bucal |
| padding | la protección |
| racket | la raqueta |
| shin guards | las espinilleras |
| shorts, trunks | los pantaloncillos, la pantaloneta, los shorts |
| sword | el sable, la espada |
| tennis shoes | los (zapatos) tenis |
Extreme Sports Equipment in Spanish
| English | Spanish |
| bicycle | la bicicleta |
| canoe | la canoa |
| elbow pads | las coderas |
| harness | el arnés |
| kayak | el kayak |
| knee pads | las rodilleras |
| longboard | la longboard |
| oxygen tank | el tanque de oxígeno |
| parachute | el paracaídas |
| rollerblades | los patines |
| skateboard | la patineta |
| snorkel | el esnórquel, el buceo |
| snowboard | la patineta de nieve |
| surfboard | la tabla de surf |
| wingsuit | el traje aéreo |
Athletes Who Practice Sports in Spanish
What if you want to say footballer, or football player in Spanish?
| English | Spanish |
| athlete | el, la atleta |
| baseball player | el, la beisbolista |
| basketball player | el, la basquetbolista |
| bike rider | el, la ciclista |
| boxer | el boxeador, la boxeadora |
| diver | el, la clavadista |
| fighter, pugilist | el peleador, la peleadora, el, la pugilista |
| football (soccer) player | el, la futbolista |
| horse rider | el, la jinete |
| runner | el corredor, la corredora |
| scuba diver | el buzo, la buza |
| skater or skateboarder | el patinador, la patinadora |
| skier | el esquiador, la esquiadora |
| surfer | el, la surfista |
| swimmer | el nadador, la nadadora |
Having a Conversation While Playing Sports in Spanish
So far we’ve learned nouns and a few example sentences to talk about sports in Spanish, but we can expand our sports vocabulary in Spanish and our sports in Spanish lists a bit more with sentences in context.
Basic Ideas
Here we’ll learn how to build some simple sentences in Spanish so we can express ourselves when playing sports.
¡Gané!
I win!
¡Perdiste! (O ¡perdió!)
You lose!
Quedamos empatados.
It’s a draw.
¡Buen tiro!
Nice shot!
¡Juguemos otra vez!
Let ‘s play again!
¿Quieres jugar béisbol conmigo?
Do you want to play baseball with me?
PRO TIP! The Spanish translation for “I win” is yo gano. In Spanish however, we use the simple past rather than the simple present to express “to win” (ganar), “to lose” (perder), and to tie (empatar).
Expressing Your Interests in Sports in Spanish
Me gusta mucho jugar básquetbol.
I like playing basketball very much.
No soy muy bueno(a) patinando.
I’m not very good at skating.
Ver fútbol es muy entretenido, pero no me gusta jugarlo .
Watching soccer is very entertaining, but I don’t like playing it.
Cuando era niño(a) estaba en el equipo de natación de mi colegio.
When I was a kid I was in my school’s swimming team.
Me encanta ver cualquier deporte.
I love watching any sport.
Las Olimpiadas son uno de los eventos deportivos más importantes del mundo.
The Olympics are one of the most important sporting events in the world.
Cheering in Spanish
In order to cheer for your team in Spanish use the word ¡vamos!, which literally means “let’s go,” or ¡dale!, which literally means “give it.”
¡Vamos, Lakers!
Let’s go, Lakers!
¡Dale, Argentina!
Come on, Argentina!
Ese equipo es buenísimo.
That team is really great.
¡Que lo saquen!
Get him out!
Practice Your Spanish
Not only is Spanish good to expand your frontiers and talk about sports with more people, but also to widen your knowledge about many other cultures. Additionally, Spanish is highly useful in many occupational areas nowadays.
You can get an incredible job depending on your foreign language proficiency! Did you know that translators and interpreters are among the top five fastest growing occupations? The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms this. Being bilingual also enables you to improve your cognition and decision-making abilities.
So sign up for a free Spanish class and broaden your horizons even more with our friendly Guatemalan teachers today!
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