Common sports in Spanish are el fútbol (football), el baloncesto (basketball), el tenis (tennis), la natación (swimming), el ciclismo (cycling) and el atletismo (athletics). Use jugar a for games (in Spain, juego al fútbol) and hacer or practicar for other activities: hago natación, practico atletismo.
Sports vocabulary in Spanish
In the pronunciation column, capitals mark the stressed syllable. “h” stands for the jota, a throaty sound like the ch in Scottish “loch”. “th” is the Spain pronunciation of z, and of c before e or i; in Latin America it is “s”.
Games you play: jugar a
| Spanish | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| el fútbol | football | FOOT-bol |
| el baloncesto | basketball | bah-lon-THES-toh / bah-lon-SES-toh |
| el tenis | tennis | TEH-nees |
| el balonmano | handball | bah-lon-MAH-noh |
| el voleibol, el vóley | volleyball | boh-lay-BOL / BOH-lay |
| el rugby | rugby | ROOG-bee |
| el críquet | cricket | KREE-ket |
| el hockey | hockey | HOH-kay |
| el bádminton | badminton | BAHD-meen-ton |
| el golf | golf | golf |
| el pádel | padel | PAH-del |
| el tenis de mesa, el ping-pong | table tennis | TEH-nees deh MEH-sah |
| el ajedrez | chess | ah-heh-DRETH / ah-heh-DRES |
Activities you do: hacer or practicar
| Spanish | English | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| la natación | swimming | nah-tah-THYON / nah-tah-SYON |
| el atletismo | athletics | aht-leh-TEES-moh |
| el ciclismo | cycling | thee-KLEES-moh / see- |
| la gimnasia | gymnastics | heem-NAH-syah |
| la equitación | horse riding | eh-kee-tah-THYON |
| el esquí | skiing | es-KEE |
| el patinaje | skating | pah-tee-NAH-heh |
| la escalada | climbing | es-kah-LAH-dah |
| el judo | judo | HOO-doh / YOO-doh |
| el kárate | karate | KAH-rah-teh |
| la vela | sailing | BEH-lah |
| el senderismo | hiking | sen-deh-REES-moh |
| el baile | dance | BY-leh |
The h of hockey is usually pronounced as a jota, and judo is heard both with a jota and with a y sound.
Jugar, hacer and practicar
- Jugar a + the game. Juego al fútbol, Juegas al tenis. In Spain the preposition and article are needed: a + el becomes al. In Mexico and much of Latin America, juego fútbol is standard.
- Jugar changes its stem. u becomes ue when stressed: juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis, juegan.
- Hacer for activities. Hago natación, Hace atletismo, Hacemos deporte. Hacer is irregular in the first person: hago.
- Practicar works almost everywhere. It is a little more formal and fits any sport: Practico judo, Practica el ciclismo. It is a safe choice when pupils are unsure.
- Many sports have their own verb. nadar (to swim), correr (to run), esquiar (to ski: esquío), patinar (to skate), escalar (to climb), bailar (to dance). “To ride a bike” is montar en bici in Spain and andar en bici in much of Latin America; “to ride a horse” is montar a caballo.
- Opinions take the article. Me gusta el tenis, Me encanta la natación; with a verb, no article: Me gusta nadar.
Gender
Most sports borrowed from English are masculine: el fútbol, el tenis, el golf. So is el deporte itself. Words ending in -ción, -ia or -a are usually feminine: la natación, la gimnasia, la vela.
Talking about sport
¿Qué deportes practicas?What sports do you do?
Juego al fútbol los sábados con mis amigos.I play football on Saturdays with my friends.
Hago natación dos veces a la semana.I go swimming twice a week.
Mi hermana juega al baloncesto en un equipo.My sister plays basketball in a team.
No me gusta nada el golf porque es aburrido.I don’t like golf at all because it’s boring.
Ayer ganamos el partido tres a uno.Yesterday we won the match three-one.
Useful words: el equipo (team), el partido (match), ganar (to win), perder (to lose), empatar (to draw), marcar un gol (to score a goal), el balón (a large ball, for football or basketball), la pelota (any ball, especially a small one).
Spain and Latin America
| Spain | Latin America | English |
|---|---|---|
| el baloncesto | el básquetbol, el básquet | basketball |
| el balonmano | el handball | handball |
| la piscina | la alberca (Mexico), la pileta (Argentina) | swimming pool |
| el campo de fútbol | la cancha de fútbol | football pitch |
| la pista de tenis | la cancha de tenis | tennis court |
| montar en bici | andar en bici | to ride a bike |
Idioms from sport
| Spanish | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tirar la toalla | to throw the towel | to give up |
| echar balones fuera | to kick balls out | to dodge the question |
| sudar la camiseta | to sweat the shirt | to give it everything |
| pillar a alguien en fuera de juego | to catch someone offside | to catch someone off guard (Spain) |
Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners
- “Juego fútbol” in a Spain-based course: it is juego al fútbol.
- “Juego natación”: swimming is not a game: hago natación or simply nado.
- “Jugo” for “I play”: jugo is juice. The stem changes: juego.
- “Me gusta fútbol”: Spanish needs the article: me gusta el fútbol.
- “Hago al tenis”: al goes only with jugar.
- Esquio without the accent: it is esquío, stressed on the i.
- Partido read as “party”: it is a match (or a political party). A party is una fiesta.
In class: sports as a word of the day
Sports are ideal for a daily routine: a clear picture, a verb choice to make and an opinion to give.
- Show the picture (a swimmer) and the English word: “swimming”.
- Ask ¿Cómo se dice en español? Pupils write their guess on mini whiteboards.
- Reveal la natación with its pronunciation. The class repeats it, then two pupils alone.
- Show the example sentence: Hago natación los martes en la piscina municipal.
- Give the reuse task: pupils sort the word into a jugar a or hacer column, then say a sentence with a time expression: los fines de semana, nunca, a veces.
- Recall yesterday’s sport with its verb: ¿Cómo se dice “I play tennis”?
That is exactly what a daily routine does: one word a day, with the verb that goes with it, until the choice becomes automatic.
Mimes and sorting
A pupil mimes a sport; the class answers with the full phrase, ¡Juegas al tenis! or ¡Haces judo!. From A2, add a frequency and an opinion. A two-column sort on the board, jugar a and hacer, makes the rule visible before it is explained.
- A1The sport with its article and me gusta: Me gusta el tenis.
- A2Jugar and hacer with frequency: Juego al baloncesto dos veces a la semana.
- B1Past matches and events: El sábado pasado jugamos contra otro instituto y ganamos.
- B2Sport and health, opinions: Es fundamental que los jóvenes hagan deporte todos los días.
At KS2, a picture, the article and a mime are enough. At KS3, insist on jugar al versus hacer and on the stem change. At GCSE, sport comes back with free time and healthy living: move to the preterite, the imperfect and opinions.
For extra vocabulary between lessons, the free site unapalabrapordia.es, created by the maker of VocaDial, publishes an illustrated Spanish word every day, translated into French, English and German, with its pronunciation and an example sentence recorded in all four languages.
The “La palabra” module does it for you
A picture and the word in the pupils’ language: the class works out how to say it, then the word is revealed with its pronunciation and an example sentence to reuse. No preparation needed: try everything free for 15 days of use.
Frequently asked questions
Is it jugar fútbol or jugar al fútbol?
In Spain, jugar al fútbol, with a + el = al. In much of Latin America, including Mexico, jugar fútbol without the article is normal. Both are correct in their region.
What is the difference between jugar and practicar?
Jugar is for games, usually with a ball and an opponent: juego al tenis. Practicar (and, in speech, hacer) works for almost any sport: practico judo, hago natación, and even practico fútbol.
How do you say "I go swimming" in Spanish?
Nado or Hago natación. “I go swimming on Saturdays” is Los sábados voy a nadar or Los sábados hago natación.
How do you say "basketball" in Spanish?
El baloncesto in Spain; el básquetbol or el básquet in much of Latin America.
Is fútbol written with an accent?
In Spain and most countries, yes: fútbol, stressed on the first syllable. In Mexico and Central America it is usually said futbol, stressed on the last syllable, and written without an accent. Both spellings are accepted.