乌龙球 (wūlóngqiú) Own Goal (Intermediate)
Key Learning Points (Preview):
乌龙球 (wūlóngqiú): n own goal
龙 (lóng): n dragon
On June 14, Simon Poulsen, defender of Denmark’s soccer team, scored an own goal, resulting in Denmark’s loss to Netherlands in 2010 World Cup. Do you know how to say “Own Goal” in Chinese language?
Origin and Usage:
“乌龙球 (wūlóngqiú)” originates from the English word “own goal.” From the 1960s, journalists in Hong Kong began to translate “own goal” into “乌龙球 (wūlóngqiú),” because the two have similar sound in Cantonese, a dialect of Chinese language. The character “乌 (wū)” means black or dark, “龙 (lóng)” means dragon, and “球 (qiú)” means ball in Chinese language. There is a folklore about “乌龙 (wūlóng)” in Guangdong Province. It is said that in ancient China, people prayed to the Green Dragon, which is the lucky symbol for rain during a long drought. However, when Black or Dark Dragon appeared instead of the Green Dragon, disasters came one after another. Later on, people used Black or Dark Dragon to describe misfortune.
“乌龙球 (wūlóngqiú) own goal” is a frequently used word in conversations related to soccer. “乌龙球 (wūlóngqiú)” stands for bad luck for the team just as the Dark Dragon stood for misfortune for ancient Chinese people.
Key Learning Points: 乌龙球 (wūlóngqiú): n own goal
Dānmài de hòuwèi Xīméng·Bàoěrsēn sòng le hélán duì yí gè wūlóngqiú, zuìhòu líng bǐ
丹麦 的 后卫 西蒙·鲍尔森 送 了 荷兰 队 一 个 乌龙球，最后 零 比
èr shū diào bǐsài.
二 输 掉 比赛。
Simon Poulsen, defender of Denmark’s soccer team, scored an own goal, resulting in Denmark’s 0-2 loss to Netherlands.
Examples:
Wūlóngqiú shì qiúmí men jīnjīnlèdào de huàtí.
乌龙球 是 球迷 们 津津乐道 的 话题。
Soccer fans are never tired of talking about own goals.
龙 (lóng): n dragon
“龙” is pronounced “long” in Chinese language. In ancient Chinese myths and legends, dragons are magical animals with eyes of shrimp, horns of deer, mouth of bull, nose of dog, feelers of catfish, mane of lion, tail of snake, scales of fish and claws of eagle. They can fly and swim, command the wind and the rain, brew storms on rivers and seas. They are used as symbol of emperor and stand for fortune and peace. Later they became the symbol of the Chinese nation.
Example:
Zhōngguó rén zìchēng lóng de chuán rén.
中国 人 自称 龙 的 传 人。
Chinese people call themselves descendants of dragons.
While I am a fan of Netherland, I view own goals quite ambivalently, they always amuse me unexpectedly but also make me feel pity.
In fact, soccer is also originated from China. In ancient time, soccer is called cu ju in Chinese language.
Marvelous! I learned both Chinese language and Chinese legend! But I still don’t know what relationship exists between soccer and dragon…
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