スポーツ

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 週末はスポーツを楽しみます。▶ —
   I enjoy sports on weekends.
2. どんなスポーツが好きですか。▶ —
   What sports do you like?

Collocations

Mnemonic

スポーツ — supootsu, a loanword from English "sports". Written in katakana. What makes this word interesting is that it splits register against two Sino-Japanese words for the same field ── 運動 undou (Sino-Japanese): physical activity in general ── a broad word that includes walking and gymnastics. 体育 taiiku (Sino-Japanese): the school-subject, educational domain. スポーツ (loanword): organized competitive, leisure, and spectator sport. Three words divide one field into thirds ── the loanword feels modern, Western, trendy; the Sino-Japanese words carry tradition, scholarship, formality. Japan's traditional martial arts are gathered not under a loanword but under a Sino-Japanese term ── 武道 budou: 相撲, 柔道, 剣道, 弓道. Loanword スポーツ vs Sino-Japanese 武道 ── a society splits 'sport that came from the West' and 'sport that came from tradition' by the very origin of the word.

Quick check

1. Axis differences of supootsu / undou / taiiku?

   • Supootsu = organized / leisure / undou = general activity / taiiku = school PE
   • Synonyms
   • Tense
   • Honorific vs humble