How do you say "athlete" in Chinese?

运动员

yùn dòng yuán

Noun Hanzi

In Chinese, "athlete" is 运动员 (yùn dòng yuán).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

Say it as "yùn dòng yuán" — fourth tone, then fourth tone, then second tone — snapping downward fast, like giving a short order; then the next syllable is rising sharply.

Writing and usage

运动员 is written using hanzi. It's a noun, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.

Example sentence

这位运动员每天早晨都在训练。

zhè wèi yùn dòng yuán měi tiān zǎo chén dōu zài xùn liàn 。

The athlete trained every morning.

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How to remember 运动员

Picture the moment when the athlete trained every morning — that image locks onto "yùn dòng yuán" for athlete.

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

Questions about 运动员

How do you pronounce 运动员?

Say it as "yùn dòng yuán" — fourth tone, then fourth tone, then second tone — snapping downward fast, like giving a short order; then the next syllable is rising sharply.

Is 运动员 formal or casual?

运动员 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is 运动员 used in Chinese?

运动员 is used the same way as the equivalent English noun. For example: 这位运动员每天早晨都在训练。 (The athlete trained every morning.).

Where can I practice Chinese words for free?

You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Athlete" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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