{"id":105,"date":"2026-09-30T18:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/sports-in-spanish\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:33:33","slug":"sports-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/sports-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports in Spanish: vocabulary, jugar, hacer, practicar and a classroom routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sports vocabulary in Spanish<\/h2>\n\n

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”.<\/p>\n\n

Games you play: jugar a<\/h3>\n\n
Spanish<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
el f\u00fatbol<\/td>football<\/td>FOOT-bol<\/td><\/tr>
el baloncesto<\/td>basketball<\/td>bah-lon-THES-toh \/ bah-lon-SES-toh<\/td><\/tr>
el tenis<\/td>tennis<\/td>TEH-nees<\/td><\/tr>
el balonmano<\/td>handball<\/td>bah-lon-MAH-noh<\/td><\/tr>
el voleibol, el v\u00f3ley<\/td>volleyball<\/td>boh-lay-BOL \/ BOH-lay<\/td><\/tr>
el rugby<\/td>rugby<\/td>ROOG-bee<\/td><\/tr>
el cr\u00edquet<\/td>cricket<\/td>KREE-ket<\/td><\/tr>
el hockey<\/td>hockey<\/td>HOH-kay<\/td><\/tr>
el b\u00e1dminton<\/td>badminton<\/td>BAHD-meen-ton<\/td><\/tr>
el golf<\/td>golf<\/td>golf<\/td><\/tr>
el p\u00e1del<\/td>padel<\/td>PAH-del<\/td><\/tr>
el tenis de mesa, el ping-pong<\/td>table tennis<\/td>TEH-nees deh MEH-sah<\/td><\/tr>
el ajedrez<\/td>chess<\/td>ah-heh-DRETH \/ ah-heh-DRES<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Activities you do: hacer or practicar<\/h3>\n\n
Spanish<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
la nataci\u00f3n<\/td>swimming<\/td>nah-tah-THYON \/ nah-tah-SYON<\/td><\/tr>
el atletismo<\/td>athletics<\/td>aht-leh-TEES-moh<\/td><\/tr>
el ciclismo<\/td>cycling<\/td>thee-KLEES-moh \/ see-<\/td><\/tr>
la gimnasia<\/td>gymnastics<\/td>heem-NAH-syah<\/td><\/tr>
la equitaci\u00f3n<\/td>horse riding<\/td>eh-kee-tah-THYON<\/td><\/tr>
el esqu\u00ed<\/td>skiing<\/td>es-KEE<\/td><\/tr>
el patinaje<\/td>skating<\/td>pah-tee-NAH-heh<\/td><\/tr>
la escalada<\/td>climbing<\/td>es-kah-LAH-dah<\/td><\/tr>
el judo<\/td>judo<\/td>HOO-doh \/ YOO-doh<\/td><\/tr>
el k\u00e1rate<\/td>karate<\/td>KAH-rah-teh<\/td><\/tr>
la vela<\/td>sailing<\/td>BEH-lah<\/td><\/tr>
el senderismo<\/td>hiking<\/td>sen-deh-REES-moh<\/td><\/tr>
el baile<\/td>dance<\/td>BY-leh<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

The h of hockey<\/span> is usually pronounced as a jota, and judo<\/span> is heard both with a jota and with a y sound.<\/p>\n\n

Jugar, hacer and practicar<\/h2>\n\n
  1. Jugar a + the game.<\/strong> Juego al f\u00fatbol<\/span>, Juegas al tenis<\/span>. In Spain the preposition and article are needed: a<\/span> + el<\/span> becomes al<\/span>. In Mexico and much of Latin America, juego f\u00fatbol<\/span> is standard.<\/li>
  2. Jugar changes its stem.<\/strong> u becomes ue when stressed: juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jug\u00e1is, juegan<\/span>.<\/li>
  3. Hacer for activities.<\/strong> Hago nataci\u00f3n<\/span>, Hace atletismo<\/span>, Hacemos deporte<\/span>. Hacer<\/span> is irregular in the first person: hago<\/span>.<\/li>
  4. Practicar works almost everywhere.<\/strong> It is a little more formal and fits any sport: Practico judo<\/span>, Practica el ciclismo<\/span>. It is a safe choice when pupils are unsure.<\/li>
  5. Many sports have their own verb.<\/strong> nadar<\/span> (to swim), correr<\/span> (to run), esquiar<\/span> (to ski: esqu\u00edo<\/span>), patinar<\/span> (to skate), escalar<\/span> (to climb), bailar<\/span> (to dance). “To ride a bike” is montar en bici<\/span> in Spain and andar en bici<\/span> in much of Latin America; “to ride a horse” is montar a caballo<\/span>.<\/li>
  6. Opinions take the article.<\/strong> Me gusta el tenis<\/span>, Me encanta la nataci\u00f3n<\/span>; with a verb, no article: Me gusta nadar.<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n

    Gender<\/h3>\n\n

    Most sports borrowed from English are masculine: el f\u00fatbol<\/span>, el tenis<\/span>, el golf<\/span>. So is el deporte<\/span> itself. Words ending in -ci\u00f3n<\/span>, -ia<\/span> or -a<\/span> are usually feminine: la nataci\u00f3n<\/span>, la gimnasia<\/span>, la vela<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

    Talking about sport<\/h2>\n\n

    \u00bfQu\u00e9 deportes practicas?<\/span>What sports do you do?<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Juego al f\u00fatbol los s\u00e1bados con mis amigos.<\/span>I play football on Saturdays with my friends.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Hago nataci\u00f3n dos veces a la semana.<\/span>I go swimming twice a week.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Mi hermana juega al baloncesto en un equipo.<\/span>My sister plays basketball in a team.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    No me gusta nada el golf porque es aburrido.<\/span>I don’t like golf at all because it’s boring.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Ayer ganamos el partido tres a uno.<\/span>Yesterday we won the match three-one.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Useful words: el equipo<\/span> (team), el partido<\/span> (match), ganar<\/span> (to win), perder<\/span> (to lose), empatar<\/span> (to draw), marcar un gol<\/span> (to score a goal), el bal\u00f3n<\/span> (a large ball, for football or basketball), la pelota<\/span> (any ball, especially a small one).<\/p>\n\n

    Spain and Latin America<\/h3>\n\n
    Spain<\/th>Latin America<\/th>English<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    el baloncesto<\/td>el b\u00e1squetbol, el b\u00e1squet<\/td>basketball<\/td><\/tr>
    el balonmano<\/td>el handball<\/td>handball<\/td><\/tr>
    la piscina<\/td>la alberca (Mexico), la pileta (Argentina)<\/td>swimming pool<\/td><\/tr>
    el campo de f\u00fatbol<\/td>la cancha de f\u00fatbol<\/td>football pitch<\/td><\/tr>
    la pista de tenis<\/td>la cancha de tenis<\/td>tennis court<\/td><\/tr>
    montar en bici<\/td>andar en bici<\/td>to ride a bike<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    Idioms from sport<\/h2>\n\n
    Spanish<\/th>Literally<\/th>Meaning<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    tirar la toalla<\/td>to throw the towel<\/td>to give up<\/td><\/tr>
    echar balones fuera<\/td>to kick balls out<\/td>to dodge the question<\/td><\/tr>
    sudar la camiseta<\/td>to sweat the shirt<\/td>to give it everything<\/td><\/tr>
    pillar a alguien en fuera de juego<\/td>to catch someone offside<\/td>to catch someone off guard (Spain)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n