N2 · 41 words

Competition and results

Tournaments, finals, records and the people on the bench.

Sports reporting uses compact nouns where conversation uses verbs: a commentator says 勝利(しょうり) and 敗北(はいぼく) where a fan says 勝(か)った and 負(ま)けた. Watch 優勝(ゆうしょう): it means winning the whole tournament, not one game — a team can win every match up to the final and still not 優勝(ゆうしょう)する.

The words

Verb (3)

破るto break (a record); to beatVerbN2

彼女(かのじょ)は十年間(じゅうねんかん)誰(だれ)も破(やぶ)れなかった記録(きろく)を破(やぶ)った。She broke a record nobody had managed to break for ten years.

Also to tear, and to break a promise: 約束(やくそく)を破(やぶ)る.

鍛えるto train; to build upVerbN2

毎朝(まいあさ)走(はし)って足腰(あしこし)を鍛(きた)えている。I run every morning to build up my legs.

競うto competeVerbN2

世界中(せかいじゅう)から集(あつ)まった選手(せんしゅ)が速(はや)さを競(きそ)う。Athletes from all over the world compete to be fastest.

This list belongs to Free time, plans and sport — seven lists and 281 words that can also be practised as a whole.

Practise this list

Multiple choice and gaps, drawn from exactly these 41 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.