It's the Olympics! Either called オリンピック　or 　五輪（ごりん）meaning "5 rings" in Japanese.

It's been so cool to watch it here in Japan. There are so many sports that are not highlighted in America that Japanese athletes excel in. Even though I still don’t understand the point system, I have been loving Judo. And ping pong is a much more interesting sport than I would have ever given it credit for.

As I listen to the announcers, read the news stories and watch all these great athletes compete, I am also learning a ton of new words and phrases I have never heard before.

I have never been the biggest sports fan, so this is my first time delving into Japanese vocabulary that has anything to do with sports.

Since everyone and their mom is talking about the Olympics, I figured we could learn some words and phrases so we can talk about it in Japanese.

First of all, here is a list of the events. Some of the kanji is a bit hard, but since most of them are in katakana, see if you can test yourself to read them before looking at the English:

開会式・閉会式（かいかいしき）・（へいかいしき）Opening Ceremony / Closing Ceremony
陸上（りくじょう）Track
競泳（きょうえい）Swimming
飛び込み（とびこみ）Diving
シンクロ Synchronized Swimming
水球（すいきゅう）Water Polo
オープンウオーター Marathon Swimming
アーチェリー Archery
バドミントン Badminton
バスケットボール Basketball
ボクシング Boxing
カヌー・スプリント Canoe Sprint
カヌー・スラローム Canoe Slalom
自転車・BMX 　(じてんしゃ）Cycling - BMX
自転車・マウンテンバイク Cycling - Mountain Bike
自転車・ロード Cycling - Road
自転車・トラック Cycling - Track
馬術（ばじゅつ）Equestrian
フェンシング Fencing
サッカー Soccer
ゴルフ Golf
体操（たいそう）Gymnastics
新体操（しんたいそう）Rhythmic Gymnastics
トランポリン Trampoline
ハンドボール　Handball
ホッケー Hockey
柔道（じゅうどう）Judo
近代五種（きんだいごしゅ）Modern Pentathlon
ボート Rowing
ラグビー Rugby
セーリング Sailing
射撃（しゃげき）Shooting
卓球（たっきゅう）Table Tennis
テコンドー Tae Kwon Do
テニス Tennis
トライアスロン Triathlon
ビーチバレー Beach Volleyball
バレーボール Volleyball
重量挙げ（じゅうりょうあげ）Weight Lifting
レスリング Wrestling

I also want to introduce you to some vocabulary through the latest Olympics headlines:

リオ五輪１０日目　日本勢の主な結果
りお　ごりん　とおかめ　にほんぜい　の　おも な　けっか
Rio Olympics Day 10 Main Results of Japan
Literally: “Rio + Olympics + 10th day + Japanese contestants + の + main + results.”
Note: You won't find 日本勢 in most dictionaries, but it's referring to the contestants from Japan. The suffix ～勢（ぜい）sometimes attaches to nouns to refer to groups engaged in a certain activity." You also see this ～勢 in the common word 大勢 (おおぜい // many [people]; a great number [of people]).

【リオオリンピック】福士加代子１４位・田中智美は１９位　女子マラソン
【りお　おりんぴっく】ふくし　かよこ　じゅうよん　い　・　たなか　ともみ　は　じゅうきゅう　い　じょし　まらそん
[Rio Olympics] Kayoko Fukushi in 14th and Tomomi Tanaka in 19th for Women’s Marathon
Literally: “Rio + Olympics + Fukushi + Kayoko + 14 + place + Tanaka + Tomomi + は + 19 + place + women + marathon”

リオ五輪の「おならの臭いがする緑色のプール」は業者による作業ミスが原因と判明
りお　ごりん　の　「おなら　の　におい　が　する　みどりいろ　の　ぷーる」　は　ぎょうしゃ　に　よる　さぎょう　みす　が　げんいん　と　はんめい
Rio Olympics “Fart Smelling Green Pool” Contractor Identifies Cause As Manufacturing Mistake
Literally: “Rio + Olympics + fart + の + smell + が + do + green color + の + pool + は + contractor + according to + manufacturing + miss + が + cause + と + identify”

リオ五輪１０日目　３連覇狙う陸上１００ｍのボルトに注目
りお　ごりん　とうかめ　さん　れんぱ　ねらう　りくじょう　ひゃく　めーとる　の　ぼると　に　ちゅうもく
Rio Olympics Day 10 Observing Bolt’s Aim for 3rd Consecutive Win at 100 Meter
Literally: “Rio + Olympics + 10th day + 3rd + consecutive win + aim + track + 100m + Bolt + に + observation”

リオ五輪の競泳終了 日本は金２つ含むメダル７つ
りお　ごりん　の　きょうえい　しゅうりょう　にほん　は　きん　ふたつ　ふくむ　めだる　ななつ
Rio Olympics Swimming Ends Japan Includes 2 Gold Medals in 7
Literally: “Rio + Olympics + の + swimming + end + Japan + は + 2 + including + medal + 7”

エジプト選手、イスラエル選手との握手拒む　柔道男子
えじぷと　せんしゅ、いすらえる　せんしゅ　と　の　あくしゅ　こばむ　じゅうどう　だんし
Egyptian Athlete, Refuses to Shake Hands with Israeli Athlete in Men’s Judo
Literally: “Egypt + athlete + Israel + athlete + with + の + handshake + refuse + Judo + men”

Tomorrow, I want to go over some of this vocabulary more deeply, as well as introducing you to more words you will surely run into if you are following the Olympics in Rio. Stay tuned!

---

This lesson was written by Cassy L., a guest contributor: