The 2014 World Cup is taking center stage as the whole world enthusiastically celebrates this international soccer event. In China, countless football fans stay up all night to watch live World Cup matches, and the hottest issue up for discussion on Chinese social networks and media is undoubtedly “The World Cup.” To keep up-to-date and in the know, learning some Chinese words about soccer can be very useful for chatting with your Chinese friends.
Chinese people are usually very enthusiastic during football games and they like to scream or shout out exclamations of pride, encouragement, or also disappointment. Two words you will often hear being shouted at players are “好球!(hǎoqiú)” and “臭球!(chòuqiú).”
Hǎoqiú
好球
“好球(hǎoqiú)” means “good shot,” and people may shout it when their favorite player makes an excellent and successful shot. During the match between Italy and England of this year’s World Cup, many Chinese people undoubtedly exclaimed, “好球! (hǎoqiú)” when Mario Balotelli scored with a second-half header to give Italy a 2-1 win over England.
Examples
Hǎoqiú! Bāshén de jìshù zhēn bàng!
好球！ 巴神 的 技术 真 棒！
Good shot! Balotelli really has great football skills!
Hǎoqiú! Zhè shì Nèimǎěr běnchǎng bǐsài jìn de dì èr ge qiú le!
好球！ 这 是 内马尔 本场 比赛 进 的 第 二 个 球 了！
Good shot! This is the second goal Neymar has scored in this match!
Chòuqiú
臭球
On the other hand, “臭球(chòuqiú)” means “bad shot” and it is used when people are disappointed at a player’s shot because he missed his goal or made a sloppy kick. Here, “臭(chòu)” literally means “stinking,” but Chinese people use it to describe a “poor shot.” The fastest goal for the wrong team in World Cup history, made by BIH defender Marcelo during the match between Brazil and Croatia, is definitively a “臭球(chòuqiú).”
Examples
Zhēn shì yíge chòuqiú! Marcelo bǎ qiú tījìn zìjiā de qiúmén la!
真 是 一个 臭球！ Marcelo 把 球 踢进 自家 的 球门 啦！
What a bad shot! Marcelo bounced the ball into the back of his team’s own net!
Chòuqiú chòuqiú! Lǔní yòu shīwù le!
臭球 臭球！ 鲁尼 又 失误 了！
Bad shot! Bad shot! Rooney missed the goal again!
Exercise
1. Mario Balotellli scored a goal past England’s goalkeeper, so he made a ____.
A. 好球(hǎoqiú)
B. 臭球(chòuqiú)
C. 坏球(huàiqiú)
2. Marcelo 踢了一个臭球(tī le yíge chòuqiú), because ___.
A.The football he used was very stinky.
B. Marcelo missed his goal.
C. Marcelo’s football skills are really great.