五 – five - wǔ

The number five is very important in Chinese culture. In ancient times the Five Elements were believed to be Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Wood. Many other things have been divided into categories of five, for example, the Five Virtues, the Five Blessings, the Five Emperors, the Five Immortals. Five is a popular number!

The character for five, 五 is written as wǔ in pinyin, and pronounced woo with a 3rd or falling and rising tone.

We have seen the number five before in 现代五项 – xiàn dài wǔ xiàng – Modern Pentathlon. I suppose you could think of the Pentathlon as "The Five Sports"...

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.