すぽーつ
supōtsunoun, loanword
In hiragana, "sports" is すぽーつ (supōtsu). It is a loanword from English, so it is normally written in katakana as スポーツ. It is also called うんどう (undō).
Meaning: sports (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| すぽーつ | supōtsu | noun, loanword |
| スポーツ | supōtsu | usual spelling |
| うんどう | undō | exercise |
The long dash ー marks a long vowel and also appears in hiragana spellings of loanwords. Ask どんなスポーツがすきですか (donna supōtsu ga suki desu ka) to ask which sports someone likes.
Which one should you use?
うんどう (undō) means exercise or physical activity in general, such as a walk or stretching, while スポーツ usually points to a game or a competition.
Did you know?
- Baseball, やきゅう (yakyū), and sumo, すもう (sumō), are among the best-known sports in Japan.
Examples in context
- すぽーつがすきです。Supōtsu ga suki desu.I like sports.
- どんなすぽーつをしますか。Donna supōtsu o shimasu ka.What sports do you play?
- まいにちうんどうをしています。Mainichi undō o shite imasu.I exercise every day.
Example conversation
Jun and his new coworker Ayaka chat during a lunch break in Nagoya.
- Junアヤカさんはどんなすぽーつをしますか。Ayaka-san wa donna supōtsu o shimasu ka.Ayaka, what sports do you play?
- Ayakaテニスをしています。Tenisu o shite imasu.I play tennis.
- Junいいですね。ぼくはやきゅうです。Ii desu ne. Boku wa yakyū desu.Nice. I play baseball.
