Swimming in Chinese 游泳
yóuyǒng
Swim in Chinese is 游泳 (yóu yǒng).
Also searched for as: swim in Chinese, swimming pool in Chinese, swimming strokes, learn to swim.
Goggles on: from the shallow end to front crawl. 15 essential swimming words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The word for swimming in Chinese is 游泳 (yóu yǒng), and a swimming pool is a 游泳池 (yóu yǒng chí). Whether you're booking a session at a sports centre or learning to swim as an adult, it helps to know the strokes, such as 蛙泳 (wā yǒng, breaststroke, literally 'frog swim'), and kit like 泳镜 (yǒng jìng, goggles). Many pools in China require a swimming cap, so expect to hear 泳帽 (yǒng mào) too.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 游泳 | yóu yǒng | to swim; swimming |
| 游泳池 | yóu yǒng chí | swimming pool |
| 泳衣 | yǒng yī | swimsuit |
| 泳镜 | yǒng jìng | swimming goggles |
| 泳帽 | yǒng mào | swimming cap |
| 蛙泳 | wā yǒng | breaststroke |
| 自由泳 | zì yóu yǒng | freestyle; front crawl |
| 仰泳 | yǎng yǒng | backstroke |
| 蝶泳 | dié yǒng | butterfly (stroke) |
| 换气 | huàn qì | to breathe (while swimming) |
| 呛水 | qiàng shuǐ | to swallow water |
| 抽筋 | chōu jīn | to get cramp |
| 深水区 | shēn shuǐ qū | deep end |
| 救生员 | jiù shēng yuán | lifeguard |
| 旱鸭子 | hàn yā zi | non-swimmer (lit. land duck) |
Usage tips
- Each stroke uses 泳 (yǒng): 蛙泳 (wā yǒng) is breaststroke, 自由泳 (zì yóu yǒng) front crawl, 仰泳 (yǎng yǒng) backstroke and 蝶泳 (dié yǒng) butterfly.
- 旱鸭子 (hàn yā zi), literally a 'dry-land duck', is a friendly, jokey word for someone who can't swim, and people often use it about themselves.
- 换气 (huàn qì) is breathing while swimming, and 呛水 (qiàng shuǐ) is swallowing water and spluttering; note that 呛 is fourth tone, qiàng, here.
Common mistakes
- Using 能 (néng) to say you know how to swim → for a learned skill use 会 (huì): 我会游泳 (wǒ huì yóu yǒng); 能 is about being able to in a situation, as in 今天我不能游泳 (jīn tiān wǒ bù néng yóu yǒng).
- Saying 做游泳 for 'go for a swim' → 游泳 is already a verb, so just say 去游泳 (qù yóu yǒng).
Mini dialogue
- A周末一起去游泳吧？Zhōu mò yī qǐ qù yóu yǒng ba?Fancy going swimming at the weekend?
- B好啊，不过我只会蛙泳。Hǎo a, bù guò wǒ zhǐ huì wā yǒng.Sure, but I can only do breaststroke.
- A没关系，我教你自由泳。Méi guān xi, wǒ jiāo nǐ zì yóu yǒng.That's fine, I'll teach you front crawl.
- B自由泳换气好难，我老是呛水。Zì yóu yǒng huàn qì hǎo nán, wǒ lǎo shì qiàng shuǐ.Breathing in front crawl is so hard, I keep swallowing water.
- A慢慢来。对了，别忘了带泳帽，那儿必须戴。Màn màn lái. Duì le, bié wàng le dài yǒng mào, nàr bì xū dài.Take it slowly. Oh, and don't forget your swimming cap, you have to wear one there.
Example sentences
- 我周末经常去游泳。I often go swimming at weekends.
- 我们小区里有游泳池。There's a pool in our complex.
- 我忘带泳衣了。I forgot my swimsuit.
- 我的泳镜进水了。My goggles are leaking.
- 这里必须戴泳帽。You have to wear a swimming cap here.
- 我只会蛙泳，别的都不会。I can only do breaststroke, nothing else.
- 自由泳的换气好难。Breathing in front crawl is so hard.
- 仰泳不用担心换气。With backstroke you don't have to worry about breathing.
- 蝶泳是最累的泳姿。Butterfly is the most tiring stroke.
- 我一换气就呛水。Every time I take a breath I get a mouthful of water.
- 别怕呛水，慢慢来。Don't worry about swallowing water, take it slowly.
- 游泳前要热身，不然容易抽筋。Warm up before swimming or you'll get cramp.
- 不会游泳别去深水区。Don't go in the deep end if you can't swim.
- 救生员一直在看着。The lifeguard is keeping watch the whole time.
- 我是个旱鸭子，一下水就慌。I'm a total non-swimmer, I panic as soon as I'm in the water.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Swimming speaking island has 8 everyday questions about swimming to prepare your own answers to.