Health and Sports

Sports and Physical Activity

This is a group of vocabulary and structures used to talk about exercising, getting around, playing sports, and people's physical activity hobbies. HSK 3 learners need to distinguish specific verbs in order to correctly understand which sport or activity the speaker is referring to.

• 运动 (yùndòng: exercise, sports) — a general term for any physical activity. It is often used in the phrases 做运动 (zuò yùndòng: do exercise), 多运动 (duō yùndòng: exercise more), and 少运动 (shǎo yùndòng: exercise less). Example: 医生建议我每天多运动。
• 锻炼 (duànliàn: to train, to exercise) — emphasizes exercising to make the body healthier. It often goes with 身体 (shēntǐ: body), 每天 (every day), and 早上 (in the morning). Example: 他每天晚上锻炼身体。
• 跑步 (pǎobù: running), 游泳 (yóuyǒng: swimming), 爬山 (páshān: mountain climbing), 散步 (sànbù: taking a walk), 走走 (zǒuzou: strolling). Among them, 散步 and 走走 are much lighter than 跑步.
• Verbs that go with sports: 踢足球 (tī zúqiú: play football) uses 踢; 打篮球 (dǎ lánqiú: play basketball) uses 打. Example: 我弟弟喜欢踢足球。
• 游泳馆 (yóuyǒngguǎn: swimming hall) and 泳池 (yǒngchí: swimming pool) are two nouns for places to swim, with close meanings.

Common Structures

• 改成 (gǎichéng: change into) + 了: shows that a plan or habit has already been changed. Example: 我把去超市改成了去书店。
• 本来……可是/但是…… (běnlái… kěshì… : originally… but…): states an original intention and then introduces a change. Example: 本来想早点睡，可是作业太多。
• 一到……就…… (yí dào… jiù…: as soon as… then…): expresses that something happens right when a situation occurs. Example: 一到冬天，他就不想出门。
• 不敢 (bù gǎn: dare not) and 不会 (bú huì: do not know how): 不敢 indicates fear or hesitation, while 不会 indicates not yet knowing how to do something. Example: 我不敢一个人游泳，因为有点害怕。
• 能 + verb (néng: can, be able to): expresses an ability that has been reached. Example: 她已经能跑十分钟了。
• 期待 (qīdài: look forward to) + verb or noun: 我期待周末去郊外爬山。
• 坚持 (jiānchí: persist) + time period + 了: expresses keeping something up steadily. Example: 他坚持学汉语已经三个月了。
• 咱们……吧 (zánmen… ba: let's…): a suggestion or invitation to do something together. Example: 天气好，咱们去河边走走吧。
• Advice and changes of attitude: 我本来不想参加，后来觉得很有意思，也想再去一次。

Illness and Rest

This group contains vocabulary for symptoms of illness, injuries, actions taken when sick, and expressions for resting. When listening, learners need to recognize the health condition of the speaker or the reason they do not do something.