Common Chinese phrases in Sports news
The 29th Southeast Asian Games start today. The host city is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The SEA Games will take place until 30th August while the 9th ASEAN Para Games will be from 17th to 23rd September (official website here).
The SEA Games is widely followed. Apart from the fact that medals and national pride are at stake, I think part of the appeal is that there is a variety of sports being contested & covered by the media and we get to see our sports heroes in action. I remember TV screens at coffee shops or certain public wait areas broadcasting the games and people walking past would just stop and drop whatever they’re doing to witness that sporting moment, be it a ping-pong match’s game point or swimming finals. What joy it is to see our athletes clinch victory. And who wouldn’t feel the swelling of happiness and pride when we see the National flag being raised at the medal ceremony. Luckily the SEA Games, being a regional meet, tends to be shown during day hours unlike the Olympics which may cross several time zones.
Support our TeamSG Athletes as they fly our flag high during the SEA Games!
(Games schedule via Toggle)
(Updates & Highlights from Team Singapore's FB page)
As you catch up with the news, you might come across some phrases that frequently appear in sports reporting. Here I organise 25 of such commonly used terms into related categories. With pinyin and translation included. With fun facts or origin stories. So that you can remember them and digest the sports news in future without breaking a sweat. (give this blog a Like if this works well for you)
1. Competition Format
东道主 refers to the host. In the context of sports competition, it means the country or city hosting the games. It can also be used in other contexts e.g. the host of a lunch event. To host others for lunch is also called 作东 (slight variation of the same phrase).
How does this phrase come about? And why is it 东 (East) and not any other direction?
Apparently, this came from a historical event during the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods 春秋战国时期. The powerful Qin 秦国 (circled in Red below) joined forces with Jin 晋国 (green) to enclose and capture Zheng 郑国 (purple). Zheng sent an envoy to Qin to rationalise the situation and negotiate:
the fall of Zheng wouldn't benefit Qin as much as it would Jin and the neighbouring smaller states;
if Zheng is spared, it could serve as an useful transport node for Qin's officials (as they travel to the other states east of Qin);
if Jin benefits after the capture of Zheng, there's no telling when it turns its sights on Qin itself.
Image from kknews.cc
The Qin ruler bought the argument and withdrew his troops. Jin couldn't continue the joint attack and Zheng escaped the predicament. 东道主 or 东道上的主人 (the host on the Eastern Route) arose from this incident.
2. Winning..
This should be easy for most of us: the 金/银/铜牌 for the 冠/亚/季军 respectively.
Just to further test your knowledge, so what is 4th place called?
(answer is in Comments section)
There are different ways of describing victory, depending on the nature of the win and the writing style of the sports journalist of course. One can say A 轻取 B (A defeats B easily) or that A 报捷 (A wins and reports the victory). 旗开得胜 and 开门红 are quite similar, in the sense that both refer to the starting win.
3. .. and Losing
If there're winners, then there have to be losers on the other side of the game. One can say A 败北 (A is defeated) or A 不敌 B (A was no match for B). 爆冷 (an upset) can be used with either wins or losses.
4. Succession and Records
蝉联 means to continue holding the title position in successive years. 蝉 refers to the cicada insect. During metamorphosis, the adult form slowly emerges from the exoskeleton, bending backwards and unfolding its wings. Watch this 3.11 min YouTube video on the metamorphosis if you cannot visualise it. This process of "emerging & extending" is the underlying idea behind the phrase 蝉联.
The KT Perspective
Most of the 25 phrases here can be extended to the larger context of competitions, not just sporting ones. For example, in elections one can say a particular candidate 败北. Or that another 爆冷 and got elected. There are a wide range of scenarios. Hence, I hope you find these phrases helpful and relevant for use in our daily lives.
Did I miss out any that you think is just as common and applicable? Drop me a feedback note or post in the comments section.