皮划艇静水 – pí huá tǐng jìng shuǐ - Canoe/kayak flatwater

The first character today is 皮, pí meaning skin or leather.

The second character is 划, huá meaning paddle.

The third character is 艇, which means a light boat.

Together 皮划艇, pí huá tǐng means a canoe or kayak.

The fourth character is 静, which means still or calm.

The fifth character is one we have already learnt, it is 水, shuǐ meaning water. We have seen this character in 水球, shuǐ qiú meaning Water polo and also in 跳水, tiào shuǐ which means Diving.

When they are combined 静水, jìng shuǐ literally means still or calm water.

So, the whole phrase means Canoe or kayak in flatwater.

pí is pronounced pee, with a 2nd or rising tone.

huá is pronounced hwah, also with a 2nd or rising tone.

tǐng is pronounced ting with a 3rd, or falling and rising tone.

jìng is pronounced jing, with a 4th or falling tone.

shuǐ is pronounced sh-way, and has the 3rd or falling and rising tone.

赛艇 – sài tǐng – Rowing

Today we will learn the mandarin word for the Olympic sport or Rowing.

The first character is 赛, sài which means a competition or contest.

The second character is 艇, tǐng which is a word for a light boat.
sài is pronounced like the English word sigh, with a 4th or falling tone

tǐng is pronounced ting, with a 3rd or falling and rising tone.

帆船 – fān chuán – Sailing

Today’s first character is 帆, fān meaning to sail.

The second character is 船, chuán meaning a boat.

Together they mean Sailing.

fān is pronounced like fan, with a 1st or high, level tone.

chuán is pronounced chew-wan, with a 2nd or rising tone.

柔道 – róu dào – Judo

The first character we are going to learn today is 柔, róu which means soft or yielding.

The second character is one that we have met before in the word 跆拳道, tái quán dào or Taekwondo. The character is 道, dào which means way.

Together these characters mean the soft or yielding way of way of fighting. In Judo the aim is to use your opponent’s strength against him.

róu is pronounced j-row, with a 2nd or rising tone.

dào is pronounced to rhyme with ow, with a 4th or falling tone.

击剑 – jī jiàn – Fencing

The first character of today’s word should be familiar. We have seen 击, jī before in the word 拳击, quán jī meaning boxing. Also in 射击, shè jī meaning shooting. It means to hit.

The second character 剑, jiàn means a sword.

The sport that involves hitting with a sword is Fencing.

jī is pronounced jee, with a 1st or high, level tone.

jiàn is pronounced j-yen to rhyme with yen, and it has a 4th or falling tone.

自行车 – zì xíng chē – Cycling

Today’s first character is 自, zì meaning self.

The second character is 行, xíng meaning to go or to travel.

The third character is 车, chē meaning a vehicle.

Together 自行车, zì xíng chē means a self propelled vehicle or a bicycle.

zì is pronounced zer, with a 4th or falling tone.

xíng is pronounced shing, with a 2nd or rising tone.

chē is pronounced chur, with a 1st or high, level tone.

花样游泳 – huā yàng yóu yǒng – Synchronised Swimming

Today’s word includes the word we learnt yesterday, 游泳 – yóu yǒng – Swimming.

The first character is 花, huā meaning a flower.

The second character is 样, yang meaning a pattern.

Together 花样, huā yàng means a flower pattern.

The third and fourth characters are ones we have already learnt in the word 游泳 – yóu yǒng – Swimming.

Altogether the words mean Synchronised Swimming, a sport where the athletes do make flower patterns while swimming.

huā is pronounced hwa, with a 1st or high, level tone.

yàng is pronounced yang with a 4th or falling tone.

yóu is pronounced yo, with a 2nd or rising tone.

yǒng is pronounced yong, with the 3rd or falling and rising tone.

游泳 – yóu yǒng - Swimming

The first character today is 游, yóu meaning to swim.

The second character is 泳, yǒng also meaning swimming.

Together they mean swimming.

yóu is pronounced yo, with a 2nd or rising tone.

yǒng is pronounced yong, with the 3rd or falling and rising tone.

现代五项 – xiàn dài wǔ xiàng – Modern Pentathlon

The first character today is 现, xiàn meaning the present time.

The second character is 代, dài meaning a historical period.

Together 现代, xiàn dài means modern.

The third character is 五, wǔ the number five.

We have seen the fourth character before in the word 铁人三项 , tiě rén sān xiàng meaning Triathlon. It is xiàng meaning an item, or itemized things.

xiàn is pronounced sh-yan, with a 4th or falling tone

dài is pronounced die, with a 4th or falling tone.

wǔ is pronounced woo, with the 3rd or falling and rising tone.

xiàng is pronounced sh-yang, with a 4th or falling tone.

曲棍球 – qū gùn qiú – Hockey

The first character today is 曲, qū meaning curved. If you examine the character carefully you will notice that there isn’t a single curved line in it. It’s all straight lines. Not all Chinese characters are pictograms.

The second character is 棍, gùn meaning stick.

The third character is 球, qiú meaning ball.

Curved stick ball is the literal translation, and that’s pretty much what Hockey is!

qū is pronounced chew, with a 1st or high, level tone.

gùn is pronounced like gun in English, with a 4th or falling tone.

qiú is pronounced chyo ( to rhyme with yoyo ), with a 2nd or rising tone.

蹦床 – bèng chuáng – Trampoline

Today’s word is Trampoline.

The first character 蹦, bèng means to jump.

The second character 床, chuáng means a bed.

bèng is pronounced bung, with a 4th or falling tone.

chuáng is pronounced ch-wong, with a 2nd or rising tone.

足球 – zú qiú – Football

Today’s first character is 足, zú meaning foot.

The second character is 球, qiú meaning ball.

Together they mean football. (A note for any of our American readers: This is the kind of football that is most popular outside America, the kind where you kick the ball with your feet! )

zú is pronounced zoo, with a 2nd or rising tone.

qiú is pronounced chyo ( to rhyme with yoyo ), with a 2nd or rising tone.

拳击 – quán jī - Boxing

Today’s new word is an interesting one. There are no new characters to learn as they are both ones that we have seen before.

The first character is 拳. You may remember it from 跆拳道 – tái quán dào – Taekwondo. It is quán meaning fist.

The second character is 击. We saw this character before in the word 射击 – shè jī – Shooting. It is jī meaning to hit.

Together they mean Boxing.

quán is pronounced ch-wan with a 2nd or rising tone.

jī is pronounced jee, with a 1st or high level tone.

羽毛球 – yǔ máo qiú - Badminton

The first character today is 羽, yǔ meaning a feather.

The second character is 毛, máo which also has the same meaning.

The last character is 球, qiú meaning ball.

yǔ is pronounced you, with a 3rd or falling and rising tone.

máo is pronounced to rhyme with cow, and has the 2nd or rising tone.

qiú is pronounced chyo ( to rhyme with yoyo ), with a 2nd or rising tone.

乒乓球 - pīng pāng qiú - Table Tennis

Today’s word is Table tennis.

The first character is 乒, pīng which is an onomatopoeic word meaning a sound like “ping”.

The second character 乓, pāng is translated into English as pong!

The last character is 球, qiú meaning ball.

pīng pāng is pronounced ping pang, both with a first or high, level tone.

qiú is pronounced chyo ( to rhyme with yoyo ), with a 2nd or rising tone.

摔跤 – shuāi jiāo – Wrestling

Today we’ll continue with our Olympic Sports theme here on Mandarin Word of the Day, bringing you more translations of words relating to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The first character in today’s word is 摔, shuāi meaning to cause to fall or to lose one’s balance.

The second character is 跤, jiāo which means to fall.

Together they mean the Olympic sport of Wrestling.

shuāi is pronounced sh-why, with a first or high, level tone.

jiāo is pronounced jee-ow, also with a first or high, level tone.

跆拳道 – tái quán dào – Taekwondo

The first character 跆, tái means to destroy with the feet! (I hope that’s not a word you’ll need very often.)

The second character 拳, quán means fist.

The third character 道, dào means way.

So, Taekwondo is literally the way of destroying with the feet and fists.

tái is pronounced tie with a 2nd or rising tone.

quán is pronounced chuan also with a 2nd or rising tone.

dào is pronounced to rhyme with ow, with a 4th or falling tone.

铁人三项 – tiě rén sān xiàng - Triathlon

Today’s sport is the Triathlon. In mandarin the characters are as follows.

The first character is 铁, tiě meaning iron or as strong as iron.

The second character is 人, rén meaning a person.

The third character 三, sān is the number three.

The fourth character is 项, xiàng meaning an item, or itemized things.

The ie in tiě is pronounced like the ie in Pierre, and it has a 3rd or falling and rising tone.

The r in rén is pronounced like a cross between a j and an r. rén has a 2nd or rising tone.

sān is pronounced san, with a 1st or high, level tone.

xiàng is pronounced shyang, with a 4th or falling tone.

沙滩排球 – shā tān pái qiú – Beach volleyball

Today’s word is an extension of yesterday’s. Yesterday we had volleyball and today we are playing it on the beach. Beach volleyball!

The first character 沙, shā means sand.

The second character 滩, tān means a beach.

The third character is 排, pái meaning rows or lines.

The fourth character is 球, qiú meaning ball.

shā is pronounced shah, with a 1st or high, level tone.

tān is pronounced tan, with a 1st or high, level tone.

pái is pronounced like pie, with a 2nd or rising tone.

qiú is pronounced chyo ( to rhyme with yoyo ), with a 2nd or rising tone.

排球 – pái qiú - Volleyball

Today we have another ball sport. This time it is pái qiú - Volleyball.

The first character is 排, pái meaning rows or lines, which refers to the lines on the court.

The second character is our old favourite 球, qiú meaning ball.

pái is pronounced like pie, with a 2nd or rising tone.

qiú is pronounced chyo ( to rhyme with yoyo ), with a 2nd or rising tone.

举重 – jǔ zhòng - Weightlifting

Today’s word is Weightlifting.

The first character 举, jǔ means to lift.

The second character 重, zhòng means weight.

jǔ is pronounced joo, with a 3rd or falling and rising tone.
zhòng is pronounced jung, with a 4th or falling tone.

篮球 – lán qiú – Basketball

The first character 篮, lán, means basket.

The second character is one we have seen in Tennis and Water Polo. It is 球, qiú meaning ball.

So, today’s word is basketball.

lán has a 2nd or rising tone.

qiú is pronounced chyo ( to rhyme with yoyo ), also with a 2nd or rising tone.

艺术体操 – yì shù tǐ cāo - Rhythmic Gymnastics

The only new character today is the first one 艺, yì, meaning skill or art.

The second character is 术, shù also meaning skill or technique is one that we learnt in 马术, mǎ shù, literally meaning Horse skill, or Equestrian events.

The last two characters of today’s word appeared in yesterday’s word, so they should be ones you recognize. 体操, or tǐ cāo meaning Artistic Gymnastics.

Combined the four characters 艺术体操 have the meaning of Rhythmic Gymnastics.

yì is pronounced ee, with a 4th or falling tone.

shù is pronounced like shoe, also with a 4th or falling tone.

tǐ is pronounced tea, with a 3rd or falling and rising tone.

cāo is pronounced tsow, “ts” as in its, and “ow” as in cow. cāo has the 1st or level tone.

体操 - tǐ cāo - Artistic Gymnastics

The first character of today’s word is 体, tǐ, meaning body.

The second character is 操, cāo, meaning to exercise.

The literal translation “body exercise” would leave a lot to be desired, because together the words mean Artistic Gymnastics.

tǐ is pronounced tea, with a 3rd or falling and rising tone.

cāo is pronounced tsow, “ts” as in its, and “ow” as in cow. cāo has the 1st or level tone.

Shooting

Today’s first character is one that we learnt yesterday. It is 射, shè, meaning “to shoot”.

The second character 击, jī, means “to hit”. Together they mean shooting with a gun.

shè is pronounced shur to rhyme with fur and has the 4th or falling tone.

jī is pronounced jee, with a 1st tone.

Archery

Today’s word is Archery. The first character 射, shè, has the meaning “to shoot”. The second character 箭, jiàn, has the meaning arrow. So the combined literal translation is “to shoot arrows”.

shè is pronounced shur to rhyme with fur and has the 4th or falling tone.

jiàn is pronounced jyen to rhyme with yen, and also has the 4th or falling tone.

Equestrian

The first character of today’s word is mǎ, which means horse. The second character is shù meaning skill. The literal translation is Horse Skill, and in English that means equestrian events.

mǎ is pronounced mah, and has a 3rd or falling and rising tone.
shù is pronounced like the English word shoe and has a 4th or falling tone.

The Equestrian events for the Beijing 2008 Olympics will be held in Hong Kong.

Tennis

You should recognize the second part of today’s word. You can tell from the character 球, qiú, that this is a sport that uses a ball.

The first character is wǎng, which has the meaning net. However, wǎng qiú is not Netball, it is Tennis. The character 网, wǎng does resemble a net and the word is used to refer to all kinds of nets including the internet.

wǎng has a 3rd tone, the falling and rising tone. Think of the tennis net falling towards the middle and then rising towards the end.

qiú is pronounced chyo, with a 2nd or rising tone.

Track and field

Today’s word is “track and field” or athletics. In Chinese the order of the words is reversed, however “field and track” still means the same thing though.

田 tián means field, and if you examine the character it does indeed resemble a square field divided into four quarters. tián rhymes with “yen” and is a 2nd or rising tone.

径 jìng means “track”. It has a 4th or falling tone.

Water polo

The first character, 水, shuǐ is one that we learnt yesterday. It means water. The second character is 球, qiú, meaning ball. The combined meaning of shuǐ qiú is water polo.

Many of the sports that involve balls use the character qiú in their names, so it is a useful one to learn.

shuǐ is pronounced shway, and has the 3rd or falling and rising tone.
qiú is pronounced chyo, with a 2nd or rising tone.

To practice and remember these words, try copying them out ten times. Then try again a few hours later.

Diving

The first character is tiào, 跳, which means to jump, and the second one is shuǐ, 水, which means water. So, tiào shuǐ is the art of jumping into water, or diving.

tiào is pronounced teow, to rhyme with meow. It has the 4th or falling tone. A good mnemonic for this might be to think of the diver falling into the water as you say the word.
shuǐ is pronounced shway, and has the 3rd or falling and rising tone. To remember this tone, think of the water falling and rising.

Notice that you have actually learnt three words today. The Mandarin language often uses combinations of two or more simple words, to create other words.

China has been leading Olympic diving for twenty years now, so they will expect to do well at the Beijing Olympics.

Welcome to the Mandarin Word of the Day blog

If you are learning Mandarin Chinese, subscribe to this blog to make sure that you receive a daily dose of Mandarin characters. Each day we will provide at least one word for you to add to your vocabulary. We will show you the characters; give you the meaning, the pronunciation and the pinyin. Sometimes we will give example of how the word could be used in a sentence.

Of course, you don’t want to be a walking dictionary, and no amount of vocabulary training can teach you to speak and understand a language. There are many other resources that can help you learn the Mandarin language and occasionally we will provide links to other useful language sites.

We won’t just be choosing random words; instead we will focus on various themes that will be of interest to every visitor to China. These will range from hotels and restaurants, to travel, sightseeing and shopping.

In the year of the Beijing Olympics it seems appropriate to start with a sports theme. So, our first few words will be sporting ones. If you are lucky enough to be travelling to China for the Olympics you will find these words very useful.