If you're watching the Olympics in China (as I am) here are some words that come up all the time on the TV that you might as well know (if you don't already).
It's so hard to use the TV as listening practice, I thought I'd try to help stack the deck in your favor. If you can get to where you recognize these really common words when they come up, that'll free your brain to listen to what else is being said, hopefully. It's still a kind of magical process (and truthfully, the TV is often WAY to fast), but maybe this'll help.
I've left out anything related to specific sports or events. You're on your own for those as well as the ubiquitous (and often baffling) country names.
Venues
niǎocháo 鸟巢 = The Bird's Nest (the main stadium)
shuǐ lìfāng 水立方 = The Water Cube (the swimming venue)
Medals
jīnpái 金牌 = gold medal
yínpái 银牌 = silver medal
tóngpái 铜牌 = bronze medal
kuài 块 = (measure word for medals)
yí kuài jīnpái 一块金牌 = 1 gold medal
bānjiǎng 颁奖 = to award a medal
guànjūn 冠军 = champion
Ceremonies
Àoyùnhuì 奥运会 = The Olympics (abbreviation for Àolínpǐkè yùndòng huì 奥林匹克运动会)
kāimùshì 开幕式 = opening ceremony
guānzhòng 观众 = audience
nǚshìmen, xiānshengmen 女士们先生们 = ladies and gentlemen
qǐng qǐlì 清起立 = please stand
guógē 国歌 = national anthem
Teams
duì 队 = team
zhōngguó duì 中国队 = China's team (in whatever sport)*They don't say in sports it's "China v. America" they always say it's "China's team v. America's team" (I guess so people don't think those players out there ARE the whole country. Whew! Thanks for the clarification.)
dàibiǎo tuán 代表团 = delegation [represent group]
zhōngguó dàibiǎo tuán 中国代表团 = The Chinese delegation
xuǎnshǒu 选手 = contestant [choose hand]
shíwǔ hào xuǎnshǒu 十五号选手 = contestant/player number 15
míng 名 = (classifier for famous/honored people)
yì míng xuǎnshǒu 一名选手 = a contestant
duìshǒu 对手 = opponent [against hand]
Matches
chǎng 场 = (measure word for sports events)
zhè chǎng bǐsài 这场比赛 = this game/match/race
bànchǎng 半场 = halftime
lún 轮 = round (of a sporting event)
dì yī lún 第一轮 = first round
juésài 决赛 = final round
bàn juésài 半决赛 = semifinals
zàntíng 暂停 = timeout
shīwù 失误 = mistake/fault
fēn(r) 分(儿) = point/points (score)*a lot of commentators are from north where that "-r" gets added
Exclamations (by commentators)
(In alphabetical order. Of course, some of these will be appropriate for some events more than others.)
chūsè 出色 = outstanding [out-color]
hǎoqiú 好球 = good shot (in any ball or "ballish" sport)
piàoliang 漂亮 = beautiful
qiǎomiào 巧妙 = clever
jīngcǎi 精彩 = brilliant / spectacular
kěxī 可惜 = too bad
shǎnshè 闪射 = shining
yíhàn 遗憾 = too bad / regretful
jiāyóu 加油 = Come on! (cheering someone on)*I had to add this, even though it's not really the commentators who say it
If anyone has a suggestion for something that belongs on this list that isn't here, please feel free to share (I may add more as the weeks go on too).
