Sports in Spanish: Vocabulary, conversation Starters and Free Printable Flashcards

If you are working on a sports unit in your Spanish classroom, today’s post will cover all things sports in Spanish.

First, we will look a a list of sports vocabulary in Spanish.

Then, we will walk through different vocabulary that can be used in sports, including sports verbs, where sports take place, equipment used in sports and sports players.

Next, I will share some conversation starters that you can use to open dialogue in your classroom.

Lastly, I will share a FREE resource with you, 15 sports flashcards in Spanish, that you can get by subscribing at the end of this post!

How do you say sports in Spanish

Before we dive right into the list of sports in Spanish, first we need to learn how to say sports in Spanish.

Sport in Spanish is el deporte.

The plural form is los deportes.

Most popular sports in Spanish

Can you guess what the most popular sport in the world is?

With 3.5 billion followers it is….. football, or what we call in the U.S., soccer! Did you guess right?

To start this post off, I want to share some of the most popular sports in Spanish

Further down in this post, I will share a more extensive list of sports in Spanish.

If you are teaching sports vocabulary to children, it’s important first to start with sports they are familiar with before diving into less known vocabulary.

Below is a list of the most popular sports in Spanish!

Baseball	Béisbol
Basketball	Baloncesto
Boxing	Boxeo
Bowling	Boliche
Cricket	El críquet
Fishing	Pesca
Football	Fútbol americano
Lacrosse	Lacrosse
Hockey (field/ice)	Hockey sobre (césped/hielo)
Karate	Kárate
Jump Rope	Saltar a la cuerda
Running	Correr
Skating	Patinaje
Skiing	Esquí
Soccer	Fútbol
Softball	Sóftbol
Volleyball	Vóleibol
Wrestling	Lucha

Spanish Sports Vocabulary

Below you can find a list of sports in Spanish in alphabetical order.

Take note, many of the sports in Spanish and English are cognates, meaning they have the same linguistic derivation as each other. Take, for example, béisbol. It is spelled differently, but it sounds very similar to the English word, baseball.

Then you also have borrowed, or loan words such as golf. In Spanish golf is el golf. Don’t let the same spelling confuse you though, these words have different pronunciations.

For pronunciation of the sports in Spanish, I will link a link to a video at the end of the list.

Acrobatics	Acrobacia
Aerobics	Ejercicio aeróbico
Archery	Tiro con arco
Athletics	Aletismo
Badminton	Bádmintón
Baseball	Béisbol
Basketball	Baloncesto
Beach Volleyball	Vóleibol de playa
Bodybuilding	Fisioculturismo
Boxing	Boxeo
Bowling	Boliche
Canoeing	Canotaje
Car racing	Automovilismo
Chess	Ajedrez
Cricket	Críquet
Cycling	Ciclismo
Darts	Dardos
Fencing	Esgrima
Fishing	Pesca
American Football	Fútbol americano
Golf	Golf
Gymnastics	Gimnasia
Hiking	Senderismo
Hockey (field/ice)	Hockey sobre (césped/hielo)
Karate	Kárate
Kickboxing	Kickboxing
Jump Rope	Saltar a la cuerda
Lacrosse	Lacrosse
Martial Arts	Artes marciales
Motorcycling	Motociclismo
Mountaineering	Montañismo
Mountain biking	Ciclismo de montaña
Paddle Tennis	Pádel
Parachuting	Paracaidismo
Paragliding	Parapente
Pole Vaulting	Salto con pértiga
Race walking	Macha atlética
Racketball	Ráquetbol
Rock Climbing	Escalada
Roller skating	Patinaje sobre ruedas
Rope climbing	Escalada de cuerda
Rugby	Rugby
Rowing	Remo
Running	Correr
Sailing	Vela
Scuba diving	Buceo
Skating	Patinaje
Skiing	Esquí
Snorkeling	Bucear
Snowboarding	Snowboard
Soccer	Fútbol
Softball	Sóftbol
Stretching	Estiramiento
Surfing	Surf
Swimming	Natación
Table tennis	Tenis de mesa
Tennis	Tenis
Volleyball	Vóleibol
Water Ski	Esquí acuático
Weight lifting	Levantamiento de pesas
Wrestling	Lucha

More Spanish Vocabulary about Sports

Below I am going to share some sport vocabulary in the following categories, verb, where sports take place, sports equipment, and player positions.

Spanish Sport Verbs

Ganar	To win
Perder	To lose
Jugar	To play
Calentar	To warm-up
Nadar	To swim
Estirar	To stretch
Patinar	To skate
Caer	To fall
Pelea	To fight
Correr	To run
Saltar	To jump
Patear	To kick
Servir	To serve
Rematar	To spike
Pegar	To hit
Regatear	To dribble
Tirar	To throw
Agarrar	To catch
Empatar	To tie
Balancear	To swing
Pasar	To pass
To steal	Robar

Where sports take place

La cancha	Field/court
La pista	Track/Rink
La piscina	Pool
El estado	Stadium
El campo de golf	Golf course
El gimnasio	Gym

Sports equipment in Spanish

La pelota	Ball
El bate	Bat
La raqueta	Racket
El guante de béisbol	Baseball Glove
El arco	Goal
La red	Net
El disco	Puck/disc
Las espinilleras	Shin gaurds
Los zapatos	Shoes
El taco	Cleat

Player positions in Spanish

El árbitro	Referee
El entrenedor	Coach
El jugador	Player
El portero	Goalie
El defensa	Defense
El centrocampista	Midfielder
El delantero	Forward
El lanzador	Pitcher
El receptor	Catcher
El futbolista	Soccer player
El beisbolista	Baseball player
El jardinero	Outfielder
El base	Point guard
La escolta	Shooting guard
El alero	Forward
El equinero	Cornerback
La animadora	Cheerleader
El pasador	Quarterback
La guardia	Gaurd

Alright, I tried to cover a wide range of vocabulary that can be found in the most popular sports. Nevertheless, there is always more Spanish vocabulary that could be added to the list. I will cover those in individual posts in the near future!

Now let’s move into basic conversation starters that you can use in your classroom.

Sports in Spanish: Conversation starters

Now that we have browsed through the comprehensive list of sports in Spanish, let’s take a peek at some conversation starters that you can use to practice sport vocabulary.

Below is a list of questions that you could use to get your students talking about sports.

Ask them out loud, or have them practice writing in Spanish by answering a few of the following questions.

¿Cuál es tu deporte favorito?	What is your favorite sport?
¿Practicas algún deporte?	Do you play any sports?
¿Te gusta jugar (deporte)?	Do you like playing (sport)?
¿te gusta ver deportes en la television?	Do you like watching sports on TV?
¿Has ido a ver algún partido en un estadio?	Have you gone to see a sport at a stadium?
¿Te gusta más el (deporte) o el (deporte)	Which sport do you like more, (sport) or (sport)?
¿Has practicado artes marciales?	Have you done martial arts?
¿Te gusta nadar?	Do you like swimming?

I hope you found a conversation starter to get your awesome students talking in Spanish! Now, let’s move on to the free resource, sports in Spanish flashcards!

Sports in Spanish Flashcards Free printable flashcards

A great way to teach sports in your Spanish class is by using flashcards.

Today I have a set of 15 bilingual, watercolor sport flashcards in Spanish that I want to share with you. And guesss what? They’re FREE! Woohoo for Freebies!!

What sports words come in these flashcards?

In this set of 15 sports flashcards in Spanish you can find the following words:

El baloncesto	Basketball
El béisbol	Baseball
El fútbol americano	Football
El vóleibol	Volleyball
El fútbol	Soccer
El boxeo	Boxing
El boliche	Bowling
El golf	Golf
El surf	Surf
El tenis	Tennis
El senderismo	Hiking
El esquí	Skiing
El patinaje sobre el hielo	Ice skating
Saltar a la cuerda	Jump Rope
El badminton	Badminton

How can you get your free sports in Spanish flashcards? Easy. All you have to do is subscribe in the box at the end of this post. From there, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. One you confirm, you will receive a welcome e-mail from me with a secret password and instructions on how to access these sport flashcards, as well as over 40+ free Spanish printables!

Now, before you subscribe, check out some fun ways you can use these sports in Spanish flashcards!

• The best ways to memorize words is to print off two sets and use them as a memory matching game. This activity is perfect for younger children to practice language development and memorization skills to connect the spoken word to the image. Make sure every time you flip over a card, you say the name of what’s on it!
• Play a fun game by having your child stand on the opposite side of the room as you, or even better outside. First, shuffle the flashcards. Then, lift a flashcard and show your child. Lastly, if they guess it right, they can take a step or hop forward! If they mess up, a step backward! Will they make it to where you are?

What a great game to use the se personal right?

• You could play a bilingual game and say the version in English. Have your child repeat it in Spanish and vice versa.
• Bring in any sport equipment into the classroom. Let your students touch and feel the items. Talk about the items in Spanish. Then have them sort the items into the relevant categories. This will help your students remember the sports in Spanish.
• Place the flashcards face up on a table and see how fast your child can recognize the Spanish space vocabulary.
• Another fun way is to play Slapjack by placing all of the flashcards face down on a table. Say a word on the list and have your child flip the cards over until they find the correct space vocabulary word.

Alright, now that you know a few fun ways to use your sports in Spanish flashcards, head to the box directly below and enter in your e-mail. Don’t forget to confirm. If you do not see a confirmation email, check your spam folder, sometimes they like to land there.

Well I hope you enjoyed today’s post about sports in Spanish. Stay tuned for my next post on hobbies in Spanish!

¡Hasta pronto!

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