踢足球
to play soccer (football)
tī zúqiú
What does 踢足球 mean?
踢足球 (tī zúqiú) is the verb-object phrase for 'play soccer' — literally 'kick foot-ball.' It teaches an important Chinese pattern: different sports use different verbs depending on how the ball is moved. 踢 (tī, to kick) goes with foot sports — soccer, hacky sack (踢毽子). For hand sports like basketball and volleyball, you use 打 (dǎ): 打篮球, 打排球. For racket sports (tennis, badminton), it's also 打.
For swimming, you use 游 (yóu): 游泳. For yoga or running, 做 (zuò) or no verb at all. So 'I play soccer' is 我踢足球, NOT 我玩足球 — 玩 means to play with/mess around, and is rarely used with sports themselves. Note: in mainland China,
Character breakdown
to kick
foot
ball
Memory hook: Literally 'kick foot-ball' — the verb 踢 (kick) tells you it's the foot-ball sport, not basketball.
Example sentences
我和朋友周末去踢足球。
Wǒ hé péngyou zhōumò qù tī zúqiú.
I'm going to play soccer with friends on the weekend.
spoken
他从小就喜欢踢足球。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù xǐhuan tī zúqiú.
He's loved playing soccer since he was little.
neutral
你会踢足球吗？
Nǐ huì tī zúqiú ma?
Can you play soccer?
spoken
下午我们一起去踢足球吧。
Xiàwǔ wǒmen yìqǐ qù tī zúqiú ba.
Let's go play soccer together this afternoon.
spoken
Common phrases with 踢足球
Synonyms
踢球 ('kick a ball') is shorter and ambiguous — could be soccer or just kicking a ball around. Native speakers often say 踢球 in casual context when soccer is implied. 踢足球 is more specific.
Don't confuse 踢足球 with
Basketball uses 打 (hit/play) not 踢 (kick) — because you use your hands, not feet. The verb tells you which sport: 踢=foot, 打=hand.
玩足球 sounds wrong to native ears. 玩 means 'play with/mess around with.' For actual sports, the correct verb is 踢 (for soccer) or 打 (for ball games using hands).