Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 玩家 | wánjiā |
| 運動員 / 运动员 | yùndòngyuán |
| 競賽者 / 竞赛者 | jìngsàizhe |
| 選手 / 选手 | xuǎnshǒu |
The term for player varies depending on whether you are referring to a person playing a game, a professional athlete or a contestant in a match. 玩家 is used specifically for people playing games, such as board games or video games and is the standard term for a 'gamer' in modern digital contexts. For physical sports, you should use 運動員 / 运动员. If the person is a contestant in a specific competition or match, use 競賽者 / 竞赛者 or 選手 / 选手.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 玩家 is composed of 玩, meaning to play or have fun and 家, which functions as a suffix for a person in a certain role or an expert/specialist.
Which one should you use?
Use 玩家 when referring to players of recreational activities or games. Use 運動員 / 运动员 for athletes or players in physical sports. Use 選手 / 选手 to refer to a player or contestant specifically within the context of a competition or match.
How do you pronounce it?
wánjiā
Did you know?
- In modern internet slang, 玩家 is sometimes used to describe someone who is a 'player' in the romantic sense, referring to a person who treats dating like a game.
- The term 選手 literally translates to 'chosen hand'. This reflects an ancient tradition where representatives were selected to compete on behalf of a group.
- While 運動員 is used for sports, the word 運動 can also mean 'political movement'. In a different context, an 'activist' and an 'athlete' share the same root word for 'movement'.
Examples in context
- 傳話遊戲是世界通行的遊戲。由第一個人傳話給另一個，另一個再傳給下一個，傳至隊伍尾端時，最後一位玩家將對其他玩家宣布所聽到的詞語。Chinese whispers is a game played around the world, in which one person whispers a message to another, which is passed through a line of people until the last player announces the message to the entire group.This sentence is useful for illustrating how a 玩家 announces a message in the game of Chinese whispers.Tatoeba #2511450 by tsayng, translation #1607008 by deniko
- 彼得是一个利他主义的游戏玩家，他会把东西给需要的人，而不是为一己之私利出售。Peter was an altruistic video game player, he would give items to people who needed them, rather than selling them for personal profit.This sentence shows how 玩家 can be used to describe a video game player.Tatoeba #333109 by fucongcong, translation #1992 by AlanF_US
- 篮球球员Basketball player
- 钢琴演奏家Piano player
- 游戏玩家Game player
- 乒乓球高手Ping pong expert
- 国际象棋棋手International chess player
- 足球球员Football player
- 他是一个资深的电子游戏玩家。Tā shì yīgè zīshēn de diànzǐ yóuxì wánjiā.He is a veteran video game player.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a new online game.
- 志强 Zhiqiang佳怡，妳想一起玩這個遊戲嗎？Jiāyí, nǐ xiǎng yīqǐ wán zhège yóuxì ma?Jiayi, do you want to play this game together?
- 佳怡 Jiayi好啊，但我是個新手玩家。Hǎo a, dàn wǒ shì gè xīnshǒu wánjiā.Sure, but I am a beginner player.
- 志强 Zhiqiang沒關係，我可以教妳。Méiguānxì, wǒ kěyǐ jiāo nǐ.That's okay, I can teach you.
- 佳怡 Jiayi太好了，志强，謝謝你！Tài hǎole, Zhìqiáng, xièxiè nǐ!Great, Zhiqiang, thank you!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “player” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
