Marathon in Chinese 马拉松
mǎlāsōng
Marathon in Chinese is 马拉松 (mǎ lā sōng).
Also searched for as: marathon, running, half marathon.
Forty-two kilometres, one step at a time. 15 words and phrases for Marathons 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.
Marathon in Chinese is 马拉松 (mǎ lā sōng), a straight sound borrowing, and runners shorten the distances to 全马 (quán mǎ), full marathon, and 半马 (bàn mǎ), half marathon. Road running is hugely popular in Chinese cities, and places in big races are often decided by ballot. These words help you talk about training, your 配速 (pèi sù), pace, the moment you 撞墙 (zhuàng qiáng), hit the wall, and the joy of crossing the 终点线 (zhōng diǎn xiàn), finish line.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 马拉松 | mǎ lā sōng | marathon |
| 全马 | quán mǎ | full marathon |
| 半马 | bàn mǎ | half marathon |
| 公里 | gōng lǐ | kilometre |
| 起跑线 | qǐ pǎo xiàn | starting line |
| 终点线 | zhōng diǎn xiàn | finish line |
| 补给站 | bǔ jǐ zhàn | refreshment station |
| 配速 | pèi sù | pace |
| 报名 | bào míng | to sign up |
| 完赛 | wán sài | to finish (a race) |
| 完赛奖牌 | wán sài jiǎng pái | finisher's medal |
| 抽筋 | chōu jīn | to get cramp |
| 撞墙 | zhuàng qiáng | to hit the wall |
| 加油 | jiā yóu | keep going! |
| 个人最好成绩 | gè rén zuì hǎo chéng jì | personal best |
Usage tips
- 配速 (pèi sù) is given in minutes per kilometre, so 配速六分 (pèi sù liù fēn) means six minutes a kilometre; runners used to miles will need to convert.
- 'Run a marathon' is 跑马拉松 (pǎo mǎ lā sōng), which keen runners shorten to 跑马 (pǎo mǎ), as in 跑全马 (pǎo quán mǎ) or 跑半马 (pǎo bàn mǎ).
- Personal best is often just PB in Chinese running circles, so 我破PB了 (wǒ pò PB le) means I've set a new PB.
Common mistakes
- Using 里 (lǐ) for race distances: it is a traditional Chinese unit of half a kilometre, so say 公里 (gōng lǐ) for kilometres and 英里 (yīng lǐ) for miles.
- Translating 'finish the race' as 结束比赛 (jié shù bǐ sài), which sounds like the event itself ending; a runner 完赛 (wán sài) or 跑完了 (pǎo wán le).
Mini dialogue
- A听说你报名了北京马拉松？Tīng shuō nǐ bào míng le Běi jīng mǎ lā sōng?I hear you've signed up for the Beijing Marathon?
- B对，这是我第一次跑全马。Duì, zhè shì wǒ dì yī cì pǎo quán mǎ.Yes, it's my first full marathon.
- A你的配速是多少？Nǐ de pèi sù shì duō shao?What's your pace?
- B六分钟左右，我只想完赛。Liù fēn zhōng zuǒ yòu, wǒ zhǐ xiǎng wán sài.About six minutes a kilometre. I just want to finish.
- A小心三十公里左右撞墙。Xiǎo xīn sān shí gōng lǐ zuǒ yòu zhuàng qiáng.Watch out for hitting the wall at around 30 km.
- B知道，到时候你在路边给我加油吧！Zhī dào, dào shí hou nǐ zài lù biān gěi wǒ jiā yóu ba!I know. Come and cheer me on from the roadside!
Example sentences
- 我想跑一次马拉松。I want to run a marathon.
- 他跑过五次全马。He's run five full marathons.
- 我先跑一个半马。I'll do a half marathon first.
- 全马是四十二公里。A full marathon is 42 km.
- 几万人站在起跑线上。Tens of thousands of people are at the start line.
- 看到终点线我哭了。I cried when I saw the finish line.
- 每五公里有一个补给站。There's a drinks station every 5 km.
- 你的配速是多少？What's your pace?
- 北京马拉松报名要抽签。Entry to the Beijing Marathon is by ballot.
- 能完赛就很好了。Just finishing is great.
- 这是我的完赛奖牌。This is my finisher's medal.
- 跑到三十公里我腿抽筋了。I got cramp in my leg at 30 km.
- 很多人在三十公里左右撞墙。Lots of people hit the wall around 30 km.
- 路边的人一直在喊加油。People by the road kept cheering us on.
- 我今天跑出了个人最好成绩！I ran a personal best today!
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Marathons speaking island has 8 everyday questions about Marathons to prepare your own answers to.