Russian Words: Sports

Poland v Russia - Group A: UEFA EURO 2012 — A giant Russian flag is seen during the UEFA EURO 2012 soccer tournament. Soccer is one of the most popular sports in Russia. Shaun Botterill / Getty Images

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Published on April 28, 2020

Sports play an important role in Russian society. Children commonly learn at least one type of sport, while older Russians watch competitions and matches live or on TV. The following vocabulary list can help you learn all the essential Russian words related to sports.

Types of Sports

The most popular sports in Russia are soccer, hockey, and volleyball, followed by basketball, track and field, skiing, boxing, and figure skating.

Russian	English	Pronunciation	Examples
Футбол	soccer	footBOL	Ты любишь футбол? (ty LYUbish footBOL?) - Do you like soccer?
Хоккей	ice hockey	hakKEIY	Он играет в хоккей (on eegRAyet f hakKEIY) - He plays ice hockey
Волейбол	volleyball	valeyBOL	Я не умею играть в волейбол (ya ne ooMYEyu eegRAT’ v valeyBOL) - I don’t know how to play volleyball
Баскетбол	basketball	basketBOL	Баскетбольная команда (basketBOL’naya kaMANda) - Basketball team
Легкая атлетика	athletics (track and field)	LYOHkaya atLYEtika	Будешь смотреть легкую атлетику? (BOOdesh smatRYET’ LYOHkuyu atLYEtikoo) - Do you want to watch athletics?
Лыжные гонки	skiing	LYZHnyie GONki	Соревнования по лыжным гонкам (sarevnaVAniya pa LYZHnym GONkam) - Cross-country skiing competition
Бокс	boxing	box	Она занимается боксом (aNA zaniMAyetsa BOKsam) - She boxes
Фигурное катание	figure skating	fiGOORnaye kaTAniye	Чемпионат по фигурному катанию (chempiaNAT pa fiGOORnamoo kaTAniyu) - Figure skating championship
Теннис	tennis	TENnis	Лучшие тенниссисты мира (LOOCHshiye tenisSISty MEEra) - Best tennis players in the world (male)
Шахматы	chess	SHAKHmaty	Поиграем в шахматы? (paeeGRAyem f SHAKHmaty?) - Shall we play chess?
Американский футбол	football	ameriKANSkiy footBOL	По теливизору показывают американский футбол (pa teleVEEzaroo paKAzyvayut ameriKANSkiy footBOL) - They are showing football on TV
Бейсбол	baseball	baseBOL	Команда по бейсболу (kaMANda pa baseBOloo) - A baseball team

Soccer

Soccer is the most popular sport in Russia. The teams Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow, and Zenit Saint Petersburg have the largest numbers of supporters, with Spartak leading with around 23% of all soccer supporters in Russia. Since the country hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2018, the sport has only grown in popularity.

Russian	English	Pronunciation	Examples
Игрок	player	eegROK	Известный игрок (eezVESniy eegROK) - A famous player
Гол	goal	gol	Забить гол (zaBEET’ gol) - To score a goal
Мяч	soccer	myach	Новый мяч (NOviy myach) - A new football
Ворота	soccer net	vaROta	В самые ворота (f SAmyye vaROta) - Into the middle of the net
Судья	referee	sood’YA	Судья остановил матч (sood’YA astanaVEEL match) - The referee stopped the match
Болельщики	supporters	baLYEL’shiki	Приехали болельщики (preeYEhali baLYEL’shiki) - The supporters arrived
Красная/жёлтая карточка	red/yellow card	KRASnaya/ZHYOLtaya KARtachka	Он получил красную карточку (on palooCHEEL KRASnooyu KARtachkoo) - He got a red card
Штрафной/свободный удар	penalty/free kick	shtrafNOI/svaBODniy ooDAR	Нанести штрафной удар (nanySTEE shtrafNOI ooDAR) - To execute a penalty kick

Hockey

Second most popular Russian sport, hockey has over 80 million active supporters in Russia. Bandy, a version of hockey which is played on ice with a ball instead of a puck, is believed by many to have originated in Russia, though this assertion is widely contested.

Russian	English	Pronunciation	Examples
Шайба	puck	SHAIba	Забить шайбу (zaBEET SHAIboo) - To score a puck
Клюшка	hockey stick	KLYUSHka	Клюшка для хоккея (KLYUSHka dlya hakKYEya) - A hockey stick
Коньки	skates	Kan’KEE	Надеть коньки (naDYET’ kan’KEE) - To put on the hockey skates
Шлем	helmet	shlem	Купить хоккейный шлем с маской (kooPEET’ hakKEIniy SHLEM s MASkai) - To buy a hockey helmet with facemask
Краги/перчатки	gloves	KRAgi/perCHATki	Доставка хоккейных перчаток (daSTAFka hakKEInyh perCHAtak) - Delivery of hockey gloves
Нагрудник	body protector/goalie armor	naGROODnik	Надевай нагрудник (nadyVAI naGROODnik) - Put on the body armor

Tennis

Tennis grew in popularity in Russia after it was revealed that Russia’s former President Boris Yeltsin loved to play tennis in order to deal with stress. Maria Sharapova remains Russia’s most famous tennis player.

Russian	English	Pronunciation	Examples
Гейм	game	geiym	Первый гейм (PERviy geiym) - The first game
Сет	set	set	Выиграть сет (VYeegrat’ set) - To win a set
Аут	error	AHoot	Мяч попал в аут (myach papal v AHoot) - The ball went out
Сетка	net	SYETka	Попадание в сетку (papaDAniye f SYETkoo) - The ball went into the net
Ракетка	racket	raKYETka	Первая ракетка мира (PYERvaya raKYETka MEEra) - Number one racket in the world
Мяч	ball	myach	Теннисный мяч (TEnisniy myach) - A tennis ball
Удар справа	forehand	ooDAR SPRAva	Современный удар справа (savreMENniy uuDAR SPRAva) - Modern tennis forehand
Удар слева	backhand	ooDAR SLEva	Удар слева в теннисе (ooDAR SLEva f TEnise) - Backhand in tennis
Подача	serve	paDAcha	Сильная подача (SEEL’naya paDAcha) - A strong serve
Тайбрейк	tie break	tie break	Что значит тайбрейк? (shtoh ZNAchit tiebreak) - What does a tie break mean?