体育
taiiku[ta̠iikɯ̟]
In Japanese, the word for sports as a school subject is 体育 (taiiku).
The term 体育 is used to refer to physical education as a subject taught in schools. If you are talking about sports as a general activity or a competitive pastime, you should use スポーツ instead. For specific activities, you can use terms like 野球 (baseball), サッカー (soccer/football), テニス (tennis), バスケットボール (basketball), 水泳 (swimming) or 相撲 (sumo wrestling). To say you are practicing, use 練習する and to say you are watching, use 観る. To say you play baseball specifically, you use the phrase 野球する.
Which one should you use?
While 体育 refers specifically to the school subject of physical education, スポーツ refers to sports as a general activity or competitive pastime.
How do you pronounce it?
taiiku
When do people say it?
The term 体育祭 refers to large-scale school sports festivals common in Japanese schools. These are much more significant cultural events than a standard English 'sports day'.
Did you know?
- The 'sports day' tradition in Japan evolved from early 20th-century military drills and physical training intended to strengthen the nation.
- During a 体育祭, students often spend weeks practicing choreographed dances or drills to perform as a collective unit for their house or grade.
- The word 体育 is composed of the characters for 'body' and 'training'.
Examples in context
- 体育祭はどうでしたか？How did you do on sports day?This sentence is useful for asking how someone did during a sports festival.Tatoeba #137991 by small_snow, translation #275244 by sundown
- 私たちは体育の日に好天を期待している。We are banking on fine weather for the sports day.This sentence is useful for expressing a hope for fine weather during a sports day.Tatoeba #165472 by mookeee, translation #249033 by CM
- 体育祭も終わったし、次は中間テストかあ。Well sports day is over too, next the midterms …This sentence is useful for noting that a sports festival has concluded and exams are approaching.Tatoeba #75393 by fcbond, translation #328326 by fcbond
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two students are talking about their school schedule in the hallway.
- 陽葵 Himari今日の午後の授業は何かな？Kyō no gogo no jugyō wa nan kana?I wonder what the afternoon class is today.
- 蓮 Ren次は体育だよ。Tsugi wa taiiku dayo.Next is physical education.
- 陽葵 Himari蓮くん、体育の準備はできた？Ren-kun, taiiku no junbi wa dekita?Ren, are you ready for PE?
- 蓮 Renうん、準備はバッチリだよ。Un, junbi wa bacchiri dayo.Yeah, I'm all set.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 体育, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
