Soccer Terms in Japanese: Vocabulary for Matches and Broadcasts

Have you ever wondered how to say soccer in Japanese? How do you say game terms like penalty, foul, goalkeeper, goal and World Cup, along with the other words that come up around the world's most popular sport?

This guide gathers the soccer vocabulary you are most likely to hear in Japanese, known as nihongo [日本語], with the kanji, the romaji and the English meaning for each term.

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How do you say Soccer in Japanese?

The first thing you need to know is that soccer in Japanese is sakkaa [サッカー], borrowed from the English word soccer. The name became common in Japan around 1960, when people wanted to keep the sport distinct from rugby and American football.

There is also the older Japanese word shuukyuu [蹴球], which simply means football. The ancient Chinese ball game Cuju [蹴鞠] is a different word, and it influenced the development of Japan's own kemari.

Japan's national team is nicknamed Samurai Blue (サムライ・ブルー), and there is a historical reason why the team plays in blue.

How do you say Goal in Japanese?

Goal in Japanese is gooru [ゴール]. An own goal is called oun gooru [オウンゴール]. Other related terms appear in the list below:

• gooru wo yurusu [ゴールを許す] - To concede a goal
• make [負け] - Loss, defeat
• haiboku [敗北] - Defeat
• hikiwake [引き分け] - Draw
• doroo [ドロー] - Draw
• douten gooru [同点ゴール] - Equalizing goal
• douten-dan [同点弾] - Equalizer
• tokushitsutensa [得失点差] - Goal difference
• nokku auto [ノックアウト] - Knockout
• tensa [点差] - Point difference
• kikku [キック] - Kick
• shuuto [シュート] - Shot
• naisu shuuto [ナイスシュート] - Nice shot

How to say World Cup in Japanese?

In Japanese writing, the World Cup often appears as W杯, a short form of ワールドカップ. The character [杯] means cup or trophy, and it often refers to a sake cup.

Japanese speakers also use the English term "World Cup" [ワールドカップ], and the qualifiers are [ワールドカップ予選].

The official name is [FIFA ワールドカップ], and in the media you will see W杯熱 [ワールドカップ熱], which literally means "World Cup fever".

The schedule of the World Cup matches is called shiai nittei [試合日程], and the group stage is guruupu riigu [グループリーグ].

The quarter-finals are junjun kesshou [準々決勝], the semi-finals jun kesshou [準決勝], and the runner-up is jun yuushou [準優勝].

The knockout stage is kesshoo toonamento [決勝トーナメント], and the trophy is torofii [トロフィー]. One more useful term is rakushou [楽勝], an easy win.

Soccer Positions and Referees in Japanese

The assistant referee is called ashisutanto referii [アシスタントレフェリー], a word taken from English. Japanese also has its own word for the role, fukushin [副審]. The head referee is shushin [主審], or simply referii.

The forward is called fowaado [フォワード], from the English word forward. The word sutoraikaa [ストライカー] also comes from striker. A defender is difendaa [ディフェンダー], another loanword from English.

The midfielder is middofiirudaa [ミッドフィールダー], and the goalkeeper is gooru kiipaa [ゴールキーパー]. Other positions appear in the list at the end of the article.

List of Soccer Vocabulary in Japanese

Here are some more soccer words in Japanese:

• daihyou [代表] - National team
• sutaatingu menbaa [スターティングメンバー] - Starting lineup
• sutaatingu [スターティング] - Starting
• hikae senshu [控え選手] - Substitute player
• riido [リード] - Leading
• koukakuken [降格圏] - Relegation zone
• tokuten [得点] - Goal, score
• sukoa [スコア] - Score
• tokuten suru [得点する] - To score
• kachi [勝ち] - Win, victory
• shouri [勝利] - Victory
• fauru [ファウル] - Foul
• hando [ハンド] - Handball
• reddo kaado [レッドカード] - Red card
• ieroo kaado [イエローカード] - Yellow card
• penarutii kikku (PK) [ペナルティーキック] - Penalty kick
• adobanteeji [アドバンテージ] - Advantage
• booru deddo [ボールデッド] - Dead ball
• koin tosu [コイントス] - Coin toss
• keikoku [警告] - Warning
• baishikuru kikku [バイシクルキック] - Bicycle kick

Parts of the Soccer Field in Japanese

• gooru posuto [ゴールポスト] - Goal post
• netto [ネット] - Net
• tacchi rain [タッチライン] - Touch line
• rokkaa ruumu [ロッカールーム] - Locker room
• benchi [ベンチ] - Player bench
• sukoa boodo [スコアボード] - Scoreboard
• sutando [スタンド] - Stands
• kankyaku [観客] - Spectators

Parts of the Players' Uniforms

• kitto [キット] - Team kit
• jaajii [ジャージー] - Shirt, jersey
• suneate [すねあて] - Shin guards
• shin gaado [シンガード] - Shin guards
• sakka sokkusu [サッカーソックス] - Soccer socks
• supaiku [スパイク] - Cleats
• yunifoomu [ユニフォーム] - Uniform
• goorukiipaa guroobu [ゴールキーパーグローブ] - Goalkeeper gloves

Other Soccer Terms in Japanese

Japanese	Romaji	English
ウィング	wingu	winger
審判	shinpan	referee
ウォームアップエリア	wōmu appu eria	warm-up area
観客席	kankyaku seki	grandstand
スローする	surō suru	to throw
スロー	surō	throw
ＦＷ	efu daburyū	forward
ベンチ	benchi	bench
シュートする	shūto suru	to shoot
ＶＩＰ席	buiaipī seki	VIP box
グランド	gurando	field
ホーム	hōmu	home
シュート	shūto	shot
フリーキック	furī kikku	free kick
フリーキックを蹴る	furī kikku o keru	to take a free kick
センタリングする	sentaringu suru	to cross
ディフェンダー	difendā	defender
３位決定戦	san-i kettei-sen	third place playoff
ドリブル	doriburu	dribble
ドリブルする	doriburu suru	to dribble
予選	yosen	qualifying
入り口	iriguchi	entrance
コーナーキック	kōnā kikku	corner kick
スタジアム	sutajiamu	stadium
ファウル	fauru	foul
座席の列	zaseki no retsu	row
決勝	kesshō	Final
フィニッシュする/ゴールを決める	finisshu suru/ gōru o kimeru	to finish / to score a goal
フェイントする	feinto suru	to feint
アウェイ	awei	away
ゴール	gōru	goal
ゴールキーパー	gōrukīpā	goalkeeper
ペナルティーエリア	penarutī eria	penalty area
オフサイド	ofusaido	offside
入場券	nyūjō ken	ticket
ハーフタイム	hāfu taimu	halftime
サイド（バック）	saido（bakku）	side
リベロ	ribero	libero
ライン	rain	line
ゴールライン	gōru rain	goal line
センターライン	sentā rain	center line
サイドライン	saido rain	side line
マークする	māku suru	to mark
プレイオフ/勝ち抜き戦	purei ofu/ kachinuki-sen	knockout
ＭＦ	emu efu	midfielder
ベスト１６決定戦	besuto ichi roku kettei-sen	Round of 16
パスする	pasu suru	to pass
パス	pasu	pass
ＰＫ	pīkei	penalty
ゴールエリア	gōru eria	goal area
席	seki	seat
ファーストラウンド/ファーストステージ	fāsuto raundo/ fāsuto suteiji	first round
延長	enchō	extra time
ベスト８決定戦	besuto hachi kettei-sen	Quarter-finals
敗者復活戦	haisha fukkatsu-sen	repechage
出口	deguchi	exit
セカンドラウンド/セカンドステージ	sekando raundo/ sekando suteiji	second round
準決勝	jun kesshō	Semi-final
チーム	chīmu	team
ゴールキック	gōru kikku	goal kick
応援する	ōen suru	to cheer
ポスト	posuto	post
バー	bā	crossbar
ボランチ	boranchi	defensive midfielder

That gives you the core soccer vocabulary in Japanese, from positions and referee calls to the words you hear in the stands. Much of it is English in katakana, so a Japanese broadcast will already sound familiar; the native terms like kachi [勝ち] and hikiwake [引き分け] are the ones worth memorizing, and a J1 League match is a good place to hear them in context.