好球!: Mandarin Phrases and Vocabulary Needed to Navigate the Euro Cup
As part of the Beijinger’s Mandarin Month series ahead of Saturday's (Jun 25) Mandarin Mixer, we present Hao Laoshi, a series of articles featuring input from teachers and representatives at various Mandarin learning centers across town. Today we hear from Luna Xing, senior marketing executive at Shuoba Chinese Centre.
Football mania is in full swing! And while many of us expats have been thrilled by the 2016 UEFA European Cup so far, there's one thing that could make watching the tournament at our favorite sports bar all the more enjoyable: being able to better bond with (or trash talk) the Chinese football fans in attendance.
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To help you prepare your Mandarin chit-chat for the before the next match, Shuobao language center and the Beijinger have compiled a list of must-know football phrases and key vocabulary. One of the best ways to catch a match is at one of Shuoba's special Euro Cup classes. Dubbed "Euro 2016: You Can You Bibi," the classes will be held on July 1 from 7-8.30pm and on July 2 from 2-3.30pm at Shuoba's Wudaokou center (Room 1201, BU Center, 28 Chengfu Road, Haidian District; Line 13 Wudaokou station exit B). Free snacks and drinks will be provided, and each student will be given a lottery card, where they can fill in their pick for the winning team. The owner of the winning ticket will receive a free football.
Before you head out to take names, brush up on your crucial Chinese football phrases: 
1. 进球 (jìnqiú, goal); 比赛 (bǐsài, tournament)
Let's hope there's more goals in later rounds of the tournament!
希望在之后几轮的比赛中,他们会有更多进球! Xīwànɡ zài zhīhòu jǐlún de bǐsài zhōnɡ, tāmen huìyǒu ɡènɡɡāo jìnqiú!
2. 守门员 (shǒuményuán, goalkeeper); 扑救 (pūjiù, saves)
The Northern Ireland goalkeeper made some amazing saves against Germany.
北爱尔兰的守门员对战德国队多次扑救成功。Běi Ài'ěrlán de shǒuményuán duì zhàn déɡuó duì duōcì pūjiù chénɡɡōnɡ.
3. 球员 (qiúyuán, players); 球队 (qiúduì, team)
Iceland don't have many skillful players, but they play well as a team.
冰岛虽然没有很多专业球员, 但是作为一个球队,他们打得很好。Bīnɡdǎo suīrán méiyǒu hěnduō zhuānyè qiúyuán, dànshì zuòwéi yíɡè qiúduì, tāmen dǎ dé hěnhǎo.
4. 裁判 (cáipàn, referee); 黄牌 (huánɡ pái, yellow card)
The referee must be blind! That should not be a yellow card!
裁判是不是瞎了，那不应该是黄牌! Cáipàn shì bù shi xiāle! Nà bù yīnɡɡāi shì huánɡ pái!
5. 红牌 (hónɡ pái, red card); 放屁 (fàngpì, fart)
I laughed when the Swedish player got a red card for farting during the match.
当瑞典球员在比赛中因为放屁而被罚红牌时, 我笑了。Dānɡ ruìdiǎn qiúyuán zài bǐsài zhōnɡ yīnwéi fànɡpì ér bèi fá hónɡpái shí, wǒ xiàole.
Here are some more useful football terms:
好球! (hǎoqiú!, well played!)
黑哨! (hēi shào!, a way to protest a "bad" call from the referee)
打门/射门! (dǎmén/shèmén!, shoot!)
传球 (chuánqiú!, pass!)
长传 (chánɡchuán, long pass)
横传 (hénɡchuán, cross pass)
半决赛 (bànjuésài, semi-final)
决赛 (juésài, final)
球门球 (qúménqiú, goal kick)
手球 (shǒuqiú, handball)
头球 (tóuqiú, header)
点球 (diǎnqiú, penalty kick)
乌龙球 (wūlónɡqiú, own goal)
帽子戏法 (màozǐ xìfǎ, hat-trick)
任意球 (rènyìqiú, free kick)
角球 (jiǎoqiú, corner kick)
Come meet teachers from Shuoba, and a dozen other Mandarin schools, at our free event this Saturday at Home Plate BBQ. Also, be sure to look back at our month-long Mandarin Month coverage here.
Mandarin Month is brought to you by Pleco, Project Pengyou, Ninchanese, BenCham, BritCham, and MexCham
This post is sponsored by Shuoba Chinese Centre.
Photos: MELTY, YIMG, SI, YIMG, Yahoo Sports
