How To Say “Soccer” In Different Languages

They say that there are 12 of those black patches on a soccer ball. I just know that a soccer ball reminds me of a Dalmatian—something white covered in spots. And then you kick it with enough force to score a goal. Boom. That’s sort of how you play soccer (or football), but not American football with that oblong-ish ball. Oh, and please don’t kick Dalmatians!

Soccer or football is surely one of the most popular sports on the planet. It is even known as “The Beautiful Game,” likely because soccer players move around the pitch with such fluidity and grace. Even if you’re not into sports, you should watch one game to see what the fuss is about. You might find yourself picking a team to root for!

“Soccer” Around the World

• English: soccer (sa-ker) / football (foot-ball)
• German: der Fußball (dehr foos-bahl)
• Dutch: het voetbal (het voot-bahl)
• Spanish: el fútbol (el fut-bol)
• Italian: il calcio (eel kal-cho)
• French: le football / le foot (luh foot)
• Portuguese (EU): o futebol (oh fut-bol)
• Portuguese (BR): o futebol (oh foo-tche-bol)
• Indonesian: sepak bola (se-pak bo-la)
• Japanese: サッカー (sak-ka)
• Korean: 축구 (chuk-goo)
• Mandarin Chinese: 足球 (zú qiú)
• Turkish: futbol (foot-bal)
• Russian / Ukrainian: футбол (fut-bol)
• Polish: piłka nożna (pee-oo-ka nozh-nah)
• Finnish: jalkapallo (yahl-kah-pahl-loh)
• Swedish: fotboll (fot-bohl)
• Norwegian: fotball (fot-bal)
• Vietnamese: bóng đá (bong dah)
• Arabic: كرة القدم (kurat al-qadam)
• Greek: ποδόσφαιρο (po-dos-feh-roh)
• Swahili: soka (soh-kah)
• Hindi: फुटबॉल (foot-bawl)