Ten words cover most of what you will ever say about exercise in Mandarin, from 运动 (yùndòng) and 锻炼 (duànliàn) to the ball games. This free printable worksheet puts each one in 田字格 (tián zì gé) tracing grids with pinyin above, ready to print or save as a PDF without signing up. The complete word list with pinyin and meanings sits in the table below.
打 or 踢? Pick the right verb
Ball games in Chinese do not take a single verb. You hit most balls with your hands, so they take 打: 打篮球, 打乒乓球, 打网球, and the general 打球 on this sheet. You kick a football, so it takes 踢: 踢足球. The clue is in the characters — 足 in 足球 is the word for foot. Get this pair right and you sound immediately more natural than a learner who says 打足球.
Two words for exercise, two different jobs
运动 is the broad one: sport in general, and also the verb for moving your body. 锻炼 is deliberate training — the gym session, the daily run, the thing you do to get stronger. Both 锻 and 炼 come from metalworking, forging and refining, which is exactly the image the word carries. 体育 is the institutional word: the subject at school, the sports section of the news.
Trace each character before writing it unaided, and notice the pieces as you go: 篮 wears 竹 (bamboo) because a basket was woven from it, and 乒 and 乓 are 兵 with a leg knocked off, shaped to sound like a ping-pong rally. Need more grids? Print blank 田字格 paper or build a custom sheet in the Chinese worksheet generator.
Words on this worksheet: 运动 (yùndòng) — motion; 锻炼 (duànliàn) — Physical exercise; 跑步 (pǎobù) — Run; 游泳 (yóuyǒng) — Swimming; 打球 (dǎ qiú) — play ball; 篮球 (lán qiú) — basketball; 足球 (zú qiú) — soccer, football; 乒乓球 (pīng pāng qiú) — table tennis; 爬山 (páshān) — Mountain climbing; 体育 (tǐyù) — Sports.
Hear these words in beginner Mandarin songs.
Frequently asked questions
Is this worksheet free to download as a PDF?
Yes. The Sports & Exercise worksheet is free to print or save as a PDF, with no account or email needed. Press Print / Download PDF: on a computer the PDF opens ready to print or save, and on a phone it goes to your share sheet. A4 or US Letter follows your country.
What level is this worksheet?
It suits learners from about HSK 3. That is an editorial estimate for the Sports & Exercise topic, not an official HSK word list, so a few of its 10 words may be harder. Each word prints with tone-marked pinyin and an English meaning to help.
Can I print copies for my class?
Yes. Print as many copies as you like — it's free. For a class set, press Change the words and open More options to add an answer key, a class line or a dictation page; the Student PDF leaves the key out. Test turns the sheet into a quiz.
Can I change the words or use traditional characters?
Yes. Press Change the words to open this sheet in the generator, then add, remove or replace words, up to 20 per sheet. Set Characters to Traditional to switch the whole sheet to traditional characters; a word with no verified traditional form stays as you typed it.
How should I practice with this worksheet?
Trace the gray guides first, saying each word aloud, then cover the model and write the characters from memory in the blank boxes. Scan the sheet's QR code or open the Practice tab to watch each stroke animate, trace it, then recall it without a guide. Revisit missed words a day or two later.