to score a goal; a goal
进球 is written with 18 strokes (进: 7, 球: 11). The animation replays automatically.
进球 (jìnqiú) means "to score a goal" or, as a noun, "a goal" — the ball entering the net in football, hockey, or the basket in basketball.
It is a verb-object compound (进 "enter" + 球 "ball"), so it can split: 进了一个球 ("scored a goal") is as natural as 有一个进球 ("there was a goal"). Use it for the act and the result: 他进球了 ("he scored"), 这个进球太漂亮了 ("what a beautiful goal"). It is neutral register and dominant in live commentary and sports news.
Distinguish it from 得分 (défēn), which is scoring points in any sport, and from 破门 (pòmén), the more vivid journalistic term for putting the ball in the net. The opposite outcome — conceding — is 丢球 (diūqiú).
Note: Everyday sports vocabulary — extremely common in football (soccer), basketball, and hockey commentary.
Character by character
Memory hook: 球 (ball) 进 (enters the net) = a goal.
他在最后一分钟进球了。
Tā zài zuìhòu yì fēnzhōng jìnqiú le.
He scored in the final minute.
spoken
这个进球太精彩了！
Zhège jìnqiú tài jīngcǎi le!
What a spectacular goal!
spoken
整场比赛一个进球都没有。
Zhěng chǎng bǐsài yí ge jìnqiú dōu méiyǒu.
There wasn't a single goal in the whole match.
neutral
他用一记头球完成进球。
Tā yòng yí jì tóuqiú wánchéng jìnqiú.
He scored with a header.
written
得分 is to score points in any sport (basketball, tennis, exams). 进球 specifically means putting the ball into a goal or net.
破门 (lit. "break the gate") is a vivid journalistic word for scoring in football. 进球 is the everyday neutral term.
进攻 means to attack / go on the offensive, the phase of play. 进球 is the successful result — the ball actually going in.
球门 is the goal itself (the frame and net). 进球 is the act of scoring into it.
Acquire it by listening
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