教练
jiàoliàn
The English phrase 'sports coach' is translated into Mandarin as 教练 (jiàoliàn).
教练 is the standard term for a coach, referring to a person who trains and directs an individual athlete or a sports team.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 教练 is composed of the characters 教 (jiào), meaning 'to teach' and 练 (liàn), meaning 'to practice/train'.
How does it change in a sentence?
教练 is a noun and does not change its form whether you are referring to one coach or multiple coaches.
How do you pronounce it?
jiàoliàn
Did you know?
- If you are talking about a coach in a highly formal or classical context, you might encounter the term 师父, though this is more common in martial arts. In those settings, the coach is viewed more as a life mentor or 'master' rather than just a technical instructor.
- While 教练 is used for sports, the same word 教练 can also be used in technical fields to describe a 'driving instructor' for cars. This means the term for a sports coach is shared with someone teaching you how to operate a vehicle.
- In professional Chinese sports circles, you might hear someone referred to as a 教头, which literally translates to 'teaching head'. It is a more colloquial and sometimes slightly more respectful or old-fashioned way to refer to a head coach.
Examples in context
- 他是一位体育教练。He is a sports coach.
- 他是我们的篮球教练。Tā shì wǒmen de lánqiú jiàoliàn.He is our basketball coach.
- 教练正在指导队员们。Jiàoliàn zhèngzài zhǐdǎo duìyuánmen.The coach is directing the team members.
- 我想请教那位游泳教练。Wǒ xiǎng qǐngjiào nà wèi yóuyǒng jiàoliàn.I want to ask that swimming coach for advice.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their workout.
- 伟 Wei晓雯，你的教练在吗？Xiǎowén, nǐ de jiàoliàn zài ma?Xiaowen, is your coach here?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen不在，他今天请假了。Bùzài, tā jīntiān qǐngjià le.No, he took the day off today.
- 伟 Wei那我们怎么训练？Nà wǒmen zěnme xùnliàn?Then how do we train?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen教练留了训练计划。Jiàoliàn liúle xùnliàn jìhuà.The coach left a training plan.
