Ready to go to a soccer match in Argentina?
Do you prefer to see some tennis or basketball in Spain? 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!
TALK ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS IN SPANISH
First, let’s explore this list of the most popular sports in Spanish-speaking countries:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el deporte | sport |
| el fútbol | soccer |
| el fútbol americano | American football |
| el béisbol | baseball |
| el baloncesto | basketball |
| el boxeo | boxing |
| el tenis | tennis |
| Tenis de mesa | Ping Pong |
1. List of the most common 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 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. Listen to what Juan has to say about sports in Spanish:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el deporte | Sports. In Spanish, we talk about sports in singular. |
| el fútbol | Football. When it comes to American football, we call it el fútbol americano |
| el bésibol | Baseboll. We sometimes also say básquetbol or just plain basquet |
| el baloncesto | Basketball. We sometimes also say básquetbol or just plain basquet. |
| el boxeo | Boxing. |
| el tenis | Tennis. Tennis is tenis! |
| el tenis de mesa | Table tennis |
2. What are the 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. Learn more about this by listening to this audio:
For sports like tennis, baseball and golf, the ball is called la bola or la pelota.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el balón de fútbol | the soccer ball |
| el balón de voleibol | the volley ball |
| la bola | the tennis/baseball/golf ball |
| la pelota | the tennis/baseball/golf ball |
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:
This is how you could say, you’re playing sports in Spanish!
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| 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:
In written form:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿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! | Hooome run! |
Verbs and terms to talk about sports in Spanish
In the next table, you can see a bunch of verbs and other sport-related terms that you can use in real conversations!
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el balón de fútbol | the soccer ball |
| el balón de voleibol | the volleyball |
| la bola | the ball (smaller sports) |
| la pelota | the ball (alternative term) |
| jugar tenis | to play tennis |
| jugar fútbol | to play soccer |
| practicar | to practice |
| el partido | the match |
| GOLAZO | GOAL (emphasized) |
| Joooonrón | HOOOOME RUN |
| Mi deporte favorito es | My favorite sport is |
| Mi equipo favorito es | My favorite team is |
| Mi atleta favorito/favorita es | My favorite athlete is |
| la selección nacional | the national team |
| delantera | attacker (in soccer) |
| el récord | the record |
5. The challenge – Examples of sports-related chunks!
Here’s a little challenge for you: Let’s talk about favorite sports, teams and athletes!
First, let’s see some chunks to use:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| 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 we want you to do is to use these chunks to talk about YOUR favorite. To be fair, Juan will start:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| 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!)
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Mi atleta favoritase llama Deyna Castellanos. | My favorite athlete is Deyna Castellanos. |
| Es delantera de la selección nacional y tiene el récord de más goles enun 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. Full list of Sports in Spanish
Hey, who says you’re only fan of the most popular sports?!
This is why we’ll give you a full list of sports in Spanish with these examples. We listed everything we could think of:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Fútbol | Soccer |
| Baloncesto | Basketball |
| Tenis | Tennis |
| Golf | Golf |
| Béisbol | Baseball |
| Voleibol | Volleyball |
| Rugby | Rugby |
| Natación | Swimming |
| Tenis de mesa | Table Tennis |
| Bádminton | Badminton |
| Boxeo | Boxing |
| Ciclismo | Cycling |
| Hockey sobre hielo | Ice Hockey |
| Esquí | Skiing |
| Snowboard | Snowboarding |
| Patineta | Skateboarding |
| Artes Marciales | Martial Arts |
| Atletismo | Athletics |
| Carreras de caballos | Horse Racing |
| Esgrima | Fencing |
| Gimnasia | Gymnastics |
| Surf | Surfing |
| Escalada | Rock Climbing |
| Tiro con arco | Archery |
| Piragüismo | Canoeing |
| Vela | Sailing |
| Triatlón | Triathlon |
| Waterpolo | Water Polo |
| Clavados/Buceo | Diving |
| Balonmano | Handball |
| Squash | Squash |
| Judo | Judo |
| Karate | Karate |
| Taekwondo | Taekwondo |
| Lucha libre | Wrestling |
| Polo | Polo |
| Pesca | Fishing |
| Kitesurf | Kite Surfing |
| Parapente | Paragliding |
| Remo | Rowing |
| Tiro | Shooting |
| Billar | Snooker/Pool |
| Automovilismo | Racing |
| Motociclismo | Motorcycle Racing |
| BMX | BMX |
| Montañismo/Alpinismo | Mountaineering |
| Senderismo | Hiking |
Now, you can talk about sports in Spanish and thus, you can track your progress in Spanish when having Spanish conversations!
