Sports in German: 150+ Core Vocabulary Words

Football, handball, tennis, cycling, skiing, ice hockey—these are some of the most popular sports in German-speaking countries. Do you know how to say them in German?

To make it easy, German also uses the word Sport.

Read on for essential sports vocabulary, from names of common sports to conversational phrases that’ll help you talk about sports with German speakers.

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Names of Sports in German

Just like in English, German also uses the word Sport. There are a lot of Sportarten  or types of sports in German, including ball sports, fitness activities and even mind sports, and we’ll cover the vocabulary for these below. Whatever your favorite sport is, you’ll likely find it here!

Popular Sports

Football or soccer is undeniably the most popular sport ever in Germany. In fact, the country’s national team has won four world cups, and fans even travel in large numbers to both local and international games. Handball and motor racing have dedicated followings too.

German	English
der Fußball	soccer
der Handball	handball
der Basketball	basketball
das Tennis	tennis
das Golf	golf
das Hockey	hockey
das Eishockey	ice hockey
das Skifahren	skiing
der Radsport	cycling (as a sport)
das Schwimmen	swimming
der Rennsport	motor racing
die Leichtathletik	track and field

If you’re a football fan, check out this list of football-specific vocabulary:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/german/german-vocabulary-soccer-football-world-cup/

Ball Sports

Ball sports are called Ballsportarten  in German. Aside from the ball sports below, Germany actually has a traditional ball sport called Faustball (fistball)—it’s a lot like volleyball, except you hit the ball with your fist. 

German	English
der Volleyball	volleyball
das Tischtennis	table tennis, ping-pong
das Rugby	rugby
der American Football	American football
das Cricket	cricket
das Badminton	badminton
das Squash	squash
der Beachvolleyball	beach volleyball

Water Sports

For water sports, the German term is Wassersportarten . Germany, Austria and Switzerland all have plenty of rivers and lakes, with North Germany being well-known for its long coastlines.

German	English
das Segeln	sailing
das Wasserskilaufen	water skiing
das Surfen	surfing
das Tauchen	diving
das Kanufahren	canoeing
das Kajakfahren	kayaking
das Rudern	rowing
das Windsurfen	windsurfing
das Kitesurfen	kitesurfing
der Wasserball	water polo
das Stand-Up-Paddleln	stand-up paddling

Fitness and Athletics

Germans are fond of their fitness, from hiking and jogging to yoga and cycling. 

Most often, you’ll simply see the word Sport used to refer to exercise of this sort, whether that be in the gym or out jogging in the park. 

Luckily, many of these can be easier to remember because some of them are the same as in English.  

German	English
das Laufen	running
das Joggen	jogging
das Marathonlauf	marathon running
das Turnen	gymnastics
das Gewichtheben	weightlifting
das Bodybuilding	bodybuilding
das Wandern	hiking
das Klettern	climbing
das Yoga	yoga
das Pilates	pilates
das/der Triathlon	triathlon
der Crossfit	Crossfit

Martial Arts

Martial arts in German are called Kampfkünste  or Kampfsportarten.  Although they’re not from a German-speaking country, you’ll still find quite a lot of options in Germany for judo, karate and taekwondo, as well as boxing.

German	English
das Karate	karate
das Judo	judo
das Taekwondo	taekwondo
das Aikido	aikido
das Boxen	boxing
das Kickboxen	kickboxing
das Krav Maga	Krav maga
das Jiu-Jitsu	jiu-jitsu
das Muay Thai	Muay thai
die Capoeira	Capoeira
das Fechten	fencing
das Ringen	wrestling

Extreme Sports

Germany, Austria and Switzerland all have diverse landscapes, so you’ll be able to try out extreme sports ( Extremsportarten in these countries. Skydiving is especially popular since there are several drop zones with breath-taking views over the countryside and the Alps.

German	English
das Fallschirmspringen	skydiving
das Bungeejumping	bungee jumping
das Base-Jumping	base jumping
das Kitesurfen	kitesurfing
das Freiklettern	free climbing
das Downhill-Mountainbiken	downhill mountain biking
das Drachenfliegen	hang gliding
das Paragliding	paragliding
das Snowboarding	snowboarding
das Wildwasser-Rafting	whitewater rafting
das Speedflying	speed flying
der Parkour	parkour
das Eisklettern	ice climbing
das Skispringen	ski jumping
das Rodeln	bobsledding, luge

Other Sports 

We’re not yet done with our lists of sports! Germany holds a lot of dance festivals and competitions throughout the year, and there are hundreds of chess clubs across the country too.   

German	English
das Tanzen	dancing
das Reiten	horseback riding
der Skilanglauf	cross-country skiing
das Schach	chess
das Bogenschießen	archery
die Eiskunstlauf	figure skating
das Darts	darts
das Kegeln	bowling
das Billard	billiards
das Poker	poker
das Snooker	snooker
der Kicker	foosball
das Ultimate Frisbee	ultimate frisbee

Verbs Used in Sports

When talking about German sports, you’ll definitely end up using verbs: 

German	English
treten	to kick
spielen	to play
springen	to jump
werfen	to throw
laufen	to run
schwimmen	to swim
schlagen	to hit
aufschlagen	to serve
fangen	to catch
heben	to lift
schießen	to shoot
paddeln	to paddle
rudern	to row
dribbeln	to dribble
klettern	to climb

Sports Equipment in German

A lot of sports equipment names in German are very direct and descriptive. For example, Handschuhe literally translates to “hand shoes” (gloves). After all, German is known for having unique compound words (sometimes with quirky meanings). 

German	English
der Ball	ball
der Schläger	racket or bat
das Paddel	paddle
der Helm	helmet
die Handschuhe	gloves
das Netz	net
die Schwimmbrille	goggles
das Fahrrad	bicycle
die Skier	skis
das Snowboard	snowboard
das Trikot	jersey
die Laufschuhe	running shoes
der Gewichthebergürtel	weightlifting belt
die Yogamatte	yoga mat

German Vocabulary for Sports Games

When you’re watching a sports game in German, you’ll need very specific vocabulary. It also enhances the experience—once your favorite team scores a goal, you can celebrate by shouting “Tor!” along with the crowd or fellow fans.  

German	English
das Spiel	game
die Mannschaft	team
der Spieler / Spielerin	player
gewinnen	to win
verlieren	to lose
der Trainer/die Trainerin	coach
der Schiedsrichter/die Schiedsrichterin	referee (male/female)
das Tor	goal
der Punktestand	score
das Unentschieden	tie or draw
der Sieg	victory
die Niederlage	defeat
das Schwimmbad	swimming pool
die Laufbahn	track
die Spielzeit	game time
die Halbzeit	halftime
die Verlängerung	overtime
die Auszeit	time-out

Sports-Related Slang and Expressions

Even when the topic isn’t sports, you might still hear about them in conversations because they’re used in common expressions. Some of these even sound quite similar to their English counterparts:

German	English
ins Schwarze treffen	to hit the bullseye (both literally and figuratively)
das Runde muss ins Eckige	the ball must go into the square (used in soccer to mean scoring a goal)
eine Klatsche kriegen	to get a thrashing (to lose by a large margin)
auf dem Holzweg sein	to be on the wrong track (making a wrong assumption)
jemandem die Daumen drücken	to keep one’s fingers crossed for someone
ein Eigentor schießen	to score a goal against one's own team (can also mean to accidentally harm one’s own cause)
auf die Nase fallen	to fall flat on one’s face (to fail)
am Ball bleiben	to keep the ball rolling
Kopf an Kopf	neck-and-neck (very close competition)
aus dem Rennen sein	to be out of the race
die zweite Luft bekommen	to catch one’s second wind (to gain new energy after becoming tired)

Talking About Sports in German

Sports can help you connect better with German speakers, whether you’re looking for an ice-breaker or you want to invite to a game. Check out these conversational phrases:

German	English
Spielst du Sport?	Do you play sports/workout?
Mein Lieblingssport ist...	My favorite sport is...
Ich spiele gerne...	I like to play...
Welchen Sport treibst du?	What sport do you play?
Ich bin ein Fan von...	I am a fan of...
Ich gehe ins Fitnessstudio.	I go to the gym.
Wer hat das Spiel gewonnen?	Who won the game?
Hast du das letzte Spiel gesehen?	Did you watch the last game?
Wir haben am Wochenende ein Spiel.	We have a match this weekend.
Spielst du in einer Mannschaft?	Do you play in a team?
Ich trainiere jeden Tag.	I train every day.
Welche Mannschaft unterstützt du?	Which team do you support?

You can pick up more practical phrases like this on FluentU.

Example Conversation

Let’s put all of these sports vocabulary together into a German conversation:  

Lukas: Hey Anna, machst du Sport?
(Hey Anna, do you play any sports?)

Anna: “Klar, ich gehe oft schwimmen. Und du?”
(Sure, I often go swimming. What about you?)

Lukas: “Ich spiele Fußball in einem Verein, wir haben zweimal die Woche Training.”
(I play soccer at a club, we have training twice a week.)

Anna: Klingt super! Ich dachte immer, Fußball wäre nichts für mich, aber vielleicht sollte ich es doch versuchen. Wie lange spielst du schon?
(Sounds great! I always thought soccer wasn’t for me, but maybe I should try it. How long have you been playing?)

Lukas: “Seit ich klein war. Fußball ist meine Leidenschaft. Aber warum hast du dich für Schwimmen entschieden?”
(Since I was little. Soccer is my passion. But why did you choose swimming?)

Anna: Ich liebe Wasser und finde Schwimmen so entspannend. Es ist ein guter Ausgleich zu meinem Büro.
(I love water and swimming is so relaxing. It’s a good offset to my office job.)

Lukas: Verstehe ich. Übrigens, nächste Woche haben wir ein wichtiges Spiel. Hättest du Lust, vorbeizukommen und zuzuschauen??
(I understand. By the way, we have an important game next week. Fancy coming to watch?)

Anna: Gerne! Klingt lustig! Ich freue mich, dich spielen zu sehen!
(Sure, sounds fun! I’m looking forward to seeing you play!)

Sports in German Culture

As you can tell from this guide, sports are pretty common in Germany—plenty of people join sports clubs, and health and fitness are highly promoted. Aside from having a track record of achievements in sports, Germany hosts major sports events regularly, including world cups and international tournaments.

Some of the top sport events in Germany include:

• FIFA World Cup — Germany has hosted this international football tournament twice and won the championship four times. 
• DFB-Pokal — This is an annual German football competition, where teams from various leagues compete, including the Bundesliga. It’s known for its exciting matches and sometimes surprising victories by underdog teams.
• Berlin Marathon — One of the world’s biggest marathons, the Berlin Marathon attracts runners from all over the globe. It’s known for having a flat, fast course that winds through the city. 

In Austria, another German-speaking country, you also have the Hahnenkamm Race, an alpine skiing event with one of the most challenging downhill courses in the world. Switzerland hosts the prestigious Wengen Lauberhorn Ski Race, which is.one of the highlights of the World Cup skiing circuit. 

 

Whether you’re a German learner or staying in a German-speaking country, sports are going to come up eventually in conversation. 

This guide brings you up to speed with the basic German sports vocabulary. Try these out so you can talk about your favorite hobby or enjoy a game to the fullest in German!