Talk about sports in Spanish: Useful Spanish sports vocabulary
¿Estás listo para ir a un juego de fútbol en Argentina? (Ready to go to a soccer match in Argentina?) Do you prefer to see some tennis or basketball in Spain? ¿O qué tal un juego de béisbol caribeño? (How about a Caribbean baseball game?)
Well, if you really want to blend into a Hispanic country or community, learn your chunks about sports in Spanish! I also have a fun challenge for you in this article.
So, read it until the end to discover it!
1. List of Sports in Spanish
Big topic in Latin America: We talk about sports like our life depends on it! Everyone has a favorite sport and team, and speaking about it in Spanish will significantly help you make native new speaker friends or impress the ones you already have.
¡Primero lo primero! (first things first!) Let’s learn some Spanish vocabulary for the most popular sports:
- el deporte (sports) —In Spanish, we talk about sports in singular.
- el fútbol (soccer) —When it comes to American football, we call it el fútbol americano
- el béisbol (baseball)
- el baloncesto (basketball) —We sometimes also say básquetbol or just plain basquet
- el boxeo (boxing)
- el tenis (scuba diving) —¡Es broma! (JOKING!) Tenis is Tennis! But we may refer to Ping Pong as Tenis de mesa. So, remember that!
2. Popular Sports in Spanish-speaking countries
Some of the most popular sports in Spanish-speaking countries around the world include soccer, basketball, bullfighting, and volleyball.
Soccer is particularly popular in most countries across Latin America, while basketball has gained more popularity in recent years. Bullfighting is traditional in certain regions of Spain and certain Latin American countries such as Mexico. (It’s always good to learn more about these traditions if you’re planning on visiting these countries.)
Volleyball also has a large fan base throughout the regions, and its specific form – beach volleyball is also entertaining.
For sports like basketball or soccer, where the ball is bigger than your hand, the ball is called balón.
- el balón de fútbol (the soccer ball)
- el balón de voleibol (the volley ball)
For sports like tennis, baseball and golf, the ball is called la bola or la pelota.
3. Learn Spanish sports vocabulary by playing!
Let’s learn some chunks you can use when talking about practicing or playing sports with your Spanish-speaking friends:
- Me gusta jugar tenis los fines de semana. (I like to play tennis on weekends.)
- ¿Te gustaría jugar fútbol con nosotros el domingo? (Would you like to play soccer with us on Sunday?)
- ¿Qué deportes te gusta practicar? (Which sports do you like to practice?)
- Soy bueno en béisbol, pero no tan bueno en voleibol. (I’m good at baseball, but not that good at volleyball.)
4. Talk about sports in Spanish while watching it!
Now, let’s suppose you’re with your friends and family watching el superclásico entre el Boca y el River (the superderby between Boca Juniors and Riverplate) or el último juego de la serie del caribe entre Los Tomateros de Culiacán y Los Cardenales de Lara (the Caribbean Baseball series finale between Culiacán Tomateers and The Lara Cardinals)?
If you want to share the passion and excitement that come with watching sports in Spanish, let’s learn some chunks about it:
- ¿Quién crees que gane hoy? (Who —or which team— do you think is going to win today?)
- ¿Cómo va el juego de béisbol? (How’s the baseball game going?)
- El equipo azul ganó el partido. (The blue team won the match.)
- ¡GOLAZOOOOO! (GOAAAAL!)
- ¡Joooonrón! (Hoooome run!)
Small tip: If you ever get close to Argentinians watching soccer, you’ll see they have a rather energetic way to express the love they feel for their favorite players.
5. The challenge – Examples of sports-related chunks!
Remember I told you I had a little challenge for you? Well, let’s talk about favorite sports, teams and athletes!
First, let’s see some chunks to use:
- Mi deporte favorito es ______ (My favorite sport is _______)
- Mi equipo favorito es ________ (My favorite team is ______)
- Mi atleta favorito o favorita es _______ (My favorite athlete is ________)
So, what I want you to do is to use these chunks to talk about YOUR favorite. If you know some more chunks in Spanish or would like to know more, please leave a comment below!
To be fair, I’ll start:
- En mi país, Venezuela, el deporte más popular es el béisbol, pero mi deporte favorito es el fútbol. (In my country, Venezuela, the most popular sport is baseball, but my favorite sport is soccer.)
- Mi equipo favorito es La Vinotinto, el equipo de Fútbol Nacional de Venezuela. (My favorite team is La Vinotinto, the Venezuelan national Soccer Team.)
Tal vez no somos los mejores, ¡pero le ponemos corazón en la cancha! (Maybe we’re not the best, but we pour our hearts into the field!)
By the way, Vinotinto means Red Wine. We call the national team like that because of the colors we wear. ¡Vamos, Vinotinto! (Go, Vinotinto!)
- Mi atleta favorita se llama Deyna Castellanos. ((My favorite athlete is Deyna Castellanos.)
- Es delantera de la selección nacional y tiene el récord de más goles en un campeonato sudamericano. (She’s the national selection attacker and she has the record of most goals scored in a South American championship.)
- ¡Cómo juega esa chama! (Boy can that girl play!)
6. FREE Spanish Training full of Spanish vocabulary
Okey, ¡ahora es tu turno! (Ok, now’s your turn!):
Use your favorite chunks and let’s talk about our favorite sports, teams and athletes. I’ll be checking your comments. So, let’s chat! If you don’t know how to say something in Spanish, just write it in English, and we will translate it for you!
Now you know how we natives talk about sports! Así que sal, agarra un balón y empieza a practicar (So, go out there, catch a ball and start practicing!)
We have a whole series of Spanish beginner videos, so feel free to check out the other videos on our channel!
We also have a free Spanish training on our website, where you’ll discover the method we use in our Spring Spanish Academy to teach students to speak fluent Spanish. You also get some free sample Spanish lessons there that come straight from our Academy!
