NBA & Basketball Leagues in Chinese 篮球联赛
lánqiú liánsài
Basketball league in Chinese is 篮球联赛 (lán qiú lián sài).
Also searched for as: NBA, CBA, basketball league.
Another league, another court. 15 words and phrases for Basketball leagues in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
篮球 (lán qiú) is one of the most popular sports in China, played on courts in schools and neighbourhoods everywhere and followed closely through both the NBA and the domestic CBA. Thanks to stars such as 姚明 (Yáo Míng), many fans know the jargon well, from the 常规赛 (cháng guī sài), regular season, to the 季后赛 (jì hòu sài), play-offs, and the 总决赛 (zǒng jué sài), the Finals. Learn these words and you can follow a game and swap highlights with friends.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 篮球 | lán qiú | basketball |
| 常规赛 | cháng guī sài | regular season |
| 季后赛 | jì hòu sài | play-offs |
| 总决赛 | zǒng jué sài | the Finals |
| 三分球 | sān fēn qiú | three-pointer |
| 扣篮 | kòu lán | slam dunk |
| 篮板 | lán bǎn | rebound |
| 助攻 | zhù gōng | assist |
| 罚球 | fá qiú | free throw |
| 全明星赛 | quán míng xīng sài | All-Star game |
| 选秀 | xuǎn xiù | the draft |
| 暂停 | zàn tíng | time-out |
| 绝杀 | jué shā | buzzer-beater; game-winner |
| 球衣 | qiú yī | jersey |
| 姚明 | Yáo Míng | Yao Ming |
Usage tips
- 'Play basketball' is 打篮球 (dǎ lán qiú), 'shoot' is 投篮 (tóu lán), and a shot that goes in is 投进 (tóu jìn), so a miss is 没投进 (méi tóu jìn).
- NBA teams have short Chinese names that fans use constantly, such as 湖人 (Hú rén) for the Lakers and 勇士 (Yǒng shì) for the Warriors.
- Stats are listed with 分 (fēn), points, 篮板 (lán bǎn), rebounds, and 助攻 (zhù gōng), assists, and a triple-double is 三双 (sān shuāng).
Common mistakes
- Mixing up 罚球 (fá qiú), free throw, with 犯规 (fàn guī), foul: a player commits a 犯规 and the opponent then takes 罚球.
- Calling a three-pointer 三点球 by analogy with 'three-point'; it is 三分球 (sān fēn qiú), because 分 means points.
Mini dialogue
- A昨天湖人的比赛你看了吗？Zuó tiān Hú rén de bǐ sài nǐ kàn le ma?Did you watch the Lakers game yesterday?
- B看了！最后一秒一个三分球绝杀！Kàn le! Zuì hòu yī miǎo yī gè sān fēn qiú jué shā!I did! A three-pointer to win it in the final second!
- A真的假的？我只看了上半场。Zhēn de jiǎ de? Wǒ zhǐ kàn le shàng bàn chǎng.Seriously? I only watched the first half.
- B太可惜了，他那场还抢了十五个篮板。Tài kě xī le, tā nà chǎng hái qiǎng le shí wǔ gè lán bǎn.What a shame. He grabbed fifteen rebounds in that game too.
- A看来他们能进季后赛了。Kàn lái tā men néng jìn jì hòu sài le.Looks like they'll make the play-offs, then.
- B希望能打进总决赛！Xī wàng néng dǎ jìn zǒng jué sài!Hopefully they'll make it all the way to the Finals!
Example sentences
- 我每周打两次篮球。I play basketball twice a week.
- 常规赛有八十二场比赛。The regular season has 82 games.
- 他们进了季后赛。They made the play-offs.
- 总决赛打满了七场。The Finals went to all seven games.
- 他投进了一个三分球。He hit a three-pointer.
- 这个扣篮太漂亮了！What a beautiful dunk!
- 他今天抢了十五个篮板。He grabbed fifteen rebounds today.
- 她这场有十次助攻。She had ten assists this game.
- 他罚球很准。He's a very accurate free-throw shooter.
- 全明星赛很好看。The All-Star game is fun to watch.
- 他是今年的选秀状元。He was this year's number one draft pick.
- 教练叫了一个暂停。The coach called a time-out.
- 最后一秒绝杀！A game-winner in the final second!
- 我买了一件他的球衣。I bought one of his jerseys.
- 姚明是中国最有名的篮球运动员。Yao Ming is China's most famous basketball player.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Basketball leagues speaking island has 8 everyday questions about Basketball leagues to prepare your own answers to.