Vocabulary page - Castellano / English

On this page you will find:

• Some background information about the use of Spanish
  
  
• A detailed vocabulary of soccer terms
  
  
  

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The following should be helpful to English speakers who have some basic Spanish and wish to read "Tenerife Hoy" or "Marca" without constantly referring to a dictionary or to converse with the spectator next to them when at a match. Hopefully, it may also help any Spanish speakers reading these pages.

In a number of cases there are alternatives for the same thing in both Spanish and English. I have not indicated whether nouns are masculine or feminine but most follow the normal rules (e.g. words ending in 'o' are masculine and take 'el'). I have also included a few South American Spanish words which are not in common use in Spain.

English speakers may wonder at the use of the term "castellano" instead of "español" - this is because the language is used throughout the Spanish speaking world but originates in Castille. To call it español would be like saying the "british language" instead of "English" when of course Welsh, Gaelic and Manx are also british languages.

Finally by way of explanation, I am not one of those people who resist using the word soccer, preferring to call "the beautiful game" football. In my view there are all sorts of football (rugby, gaelic, american, australian rules, etc.) but none compare to SOCCER in their complexity or excitement.

If you know of other "football words" (or you want to correct my Spanish which is far from perfect!) please send me an e-mail at Peña Internet.


SOCCER VOCABULARY - SPANISH / ENGLISH
VOCABULARIO DE FÚTBOL - CASTELLANO / INGLÉS

Castellano / Spanish	English / Inglés	Notes
aburrido(a)	boring	NEVER applies to games involving CD Tenerife!
la afición	the fans / supporters	-
aficionado/a	fan	-
alineación	line-up	-
amonestación	warning / booking	-
árbitro	referee	-
arco	the goal	i.e. the posts and net - this is a South American term
arquero	goalkeeper	this is a South American term
asiento	seat	-
aúpa!(a)	up! / come on!	-
balón	ball	-
balompié	football / soccer	i.e. the game. Appears mainly in club names e.g. Real Betis Balompié
banquillo	the bench	-
blanquiazul	blue and white	los blanquiazules - the blue and whites i.e. CD Tenerife
cabeza	head	-
campeón	champions	-
campeonato	championship	-
campo	pitch / field	-
cancha	football ground	this is a South American term
capitán	captain	-
castigo	penalty	-
conjunto	the team	literally means the assembly, group or set
copa	cup	-
Copa América	American Nation's Cup	equivalent of European Championship but every 2 years
Copa Libertadores	Liberators' Cup	South American club competition
Copa del Rey	The King's Cup	The Spanish equivalent of the FA CUP
corner	corner kick	-
defensa	defender	-
delantero	forward	-
delantero centro	centre forward	-
derrota	defeat	-
descanso	half-time	also means interval e.g. before extra-time
descuento	injury time	-
diferencia por goles	goal difference	-
disparo	shot (at goal)	-
dorsal	number	squad numbers are always worn [see The Squad page]
empate	draw	-
en casa	at home	-
entrada	a ticket or a tackle	which it means will depend on context
entrenador	manager	literally "trainer" but manager in the English sense
estadio	football ground / stadium	-
estupendo(a)	wonderful / terrific	ESTUPENDO! [exclamation] means fantastic.
equipo	team	-
estrellato	stardom	-
expulsión	sending off	-
falta	foul	-
fila	row	i.e. row of seats in the stand
frente a	against	-
FUERA!	OFF!	i.e. send him off!
fuera de casa	away game	-
fuera de juego	offside	-
fútbol	football / soccer	i.e. the game
gol	goal	i.e. a goal scored
grada	terrace	desde la grada [from the terrace] - letters page in "Tenerife Hoy"
guanche	original tinerfeños	orgullo guanche [guanche pride] - slogan on fans' t-shirts
guardameta	goalkeeper	-
hincha	fan	more familiar than aficionado - seems more common in South America
jugador	player	-
jugada	move	i.e. series of passes
liga	league	-
madera	woodwork	i.e. the post / crossbar
marcador	scorer	-
marcar	to score	-
medio	midfielder	-
meta	goal	i.e. the posts and net
el Mundial	the World Cup	-
palo	goalpost	-
partido	game	-
penalti	penalty	difficult to guess if you don't speak fluent Spanish!!!
pie	foot	-
plantilla	the staff / squad	-
portería	goal	i.e. the posts and net
portera	goalkeeper	in women's football only!
portero	goalkeeper	-
poste	goalpost	-
primera mitad	first half	-
primer tiempo	first half	-
propia meta	own goal	-
prórroga	extra-time	-
puerta	entry gate / turnstile	-
puntos	points	-
Real	Royal	as in the name of many football teams
la Recopa	The Cup-winners Cup	-
red	the net	-
remate	shot	-
saque incial	kick-off	-
saque de esquina	corner kick	-
saque de banda	throw-in	-
(la) selección	national team	strictly "la selección nacional" but often just referred to as "la seleccion"
segunda mitad	second half	-
segundo tiempo	second half	-
suplente	substitute	-
tanto	shot	-
tarjeta amarilla	yellow card	-
tarjeta roja	red card	-
taquilla	ticket office	-
terreno	pitch / field	-
tinerfeño	tenerifean	-
travesaño	crossbar	-
triunfo	triumph	-
la UEFA	the UEFA Cup	-
VENGA!	COME ON!	-
vestuarios	changing rooms	-
victoria	victory	-

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