Italian words by topic

Sports in Italian

This is a list of 25 common words for talking about sports in Italian, each with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence. Play any word to hear it, check yourself in the quiz and download the list for Anki or Quizlet.

Quick answer

Sports in Italian: il calcio, il basket, il tennis, la pallavolo, il baseball, il golf, il nuoto. The table below gives all 25 words with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence. A quiz of 10 questions checks what you remember, and the list can be downloaded for a spreadsheet, Quizlet or Anki.

Word Translation Example
il calcio /kaltʃo/ football Gioco a calcio ogni sabato con Marco. I play football every Saturday with Marco.
il basket /basket/ basketball Mia sorella gioca a basket dopo scuola. My sister plays basketball after school.
il tennis /tɛnnis/ tennis Giochiamo a tennis nel pomeriggio al circolo. We play tennis at the club in the afternoon.
la pallavolo /pallavolo/ volleyball Le ragazze giocano a pallavolo in palestra. The girls play volleyball in the gym.
il baseball /beɪzboːl/ baseball Mio cugino gioca a baseball con gli amici. My cousin plays baseball with his friends.
il golf /ɡɔlf/ golf Mio padre gioca a golf ogni domenica. My father plays golf every Sunday.
il nuoto /nʊɔto/ swimming Faccio nuoto due volte alla settimana. I go swimming twice a week.
la corsa /korsa/ running Pratico la corsa al parco ogni mattina. I practice running in the park every morning.
il ciclismo /tʃiklizmo/ cycling Pratico ciclismo sulle strade di campagna. I go cycling on country roads.
lo sci /ʃi/ skiing In inverno pratico lo sci sulle montagne. In winter I go skiing in the mountains.
la boxe /bokse/ boxing Mio fratello pratica la boxe in palestra. My brother practices boxing at the gym.
l'hockey su ghiaccio /okːeɪ sʊ ɡjatʃːo/ L'hockey is masculine after l'. ice hockey In Canada molti ragazzi giocano a hockey su ghiaccio. In Canada many boys play ice hockey.
il rugby /raɡbɪ/ rugby La squadra gioca a rugby ogni sabato. The team plays rugby every Saturday.
la pallamano /pallamano/ handball A scuola giochiamo a pallamano con gli amici. At school we play handball with our friends.
il ping pong /piŋɡ pɔŋɡ/ table tennis Dopo cena giochiamo a ping pong insieme. After dinner we play table tennis together.
il badminton /badminton/ badminton Giochiamo a badminton nel giardino di casa. We play badminton in the garden at home.
la ginnastica /dʒinnastika/ gymnastics Mia figlia fa ginnastica il martedì pomeriggio. My daughter does gymnastics on Tuesday afternoon.
l'atletica /atlɛtika/ L'atletica is feminine after l'. athletics Mio fratello pratica atletica allo stadio comunale. My brother practices athletics at the municipal stadium.
il surf /surf/ surfing In estate faccio surf con mio fratello. In summer I go surfing with my brother.
il pattinaggio sul ghiaccio /patːinadʒːo sʊl ɡjatʃːo/ ice skating D'inverno facciamo pattinaggio sul ghiaccio insieme. In winter we go ice skating together.
lo snowboard /znowboard/ snowboarding In montagna pratico snowboard con i miei amici. In the mountains I go snowboarding with my friends.
la lotta /lɔtːa/ wrestling Mio cugino pratica la lotta da tre anni. My cousin has practiced wrestling for three years.
il karate /kaɾate/ karate Mia sorella pratica karate ogni martedì sera. My sister practices karate every Tuesday evening.
la vela /vela/ sailing D'estate pratichiamo vela sul lago. In summer we go sailing on the lake.
l'equitazione /ekwitatsione/ L'equitazione is feminine after l'. horse riding Mia figlia pratica equitazione ogni sabato mattina. My daughter goes horse riding every Saturday morning.

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Italian words by topic

Frequently asked questions

How do you say sports in Italian?

The list on this page has 25 words. The first ones are il calcio (football), il basket (basketball), il tennis (tennis). Each comes with IPA, audio, a translation and an example sentence.

How can I practice these words?

Take the quiz on this page, then download the list for Anki or Quizlet and review a few words every day. In Lingo7 you can read books in Italian with a translation under every sentence and meet the same words in context.

How are these words pronounced?

Press the play button next to a word or an example sentence to hear it. The IPA under each word shows the sounds too: l'atletica is pronounced /atlɛtika/.