Es mejor que el fútbol.
It's better than soccer.
Soccer is the big benchmark, so calling something better than el fútbol is serious praise. The sport keeps its article after que.
From Juegos peligrosos · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "soccer" in Spanish
el fútbol
nounmasculineplayer: el futbolista
"Soccer" in Spanish is el fútbol. Spanish has one word for the sport that Americans call soccer and the British call football. The game with the oval ball is el fútbol americano.
Hear "fútbol" in real movie scenes
High praise and a Sunday meeting point. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Ese es el campo de fútbol.
That's the soccer field.
On Sunday mornings half the town gathers at the field, so pointing is enough. With de, fútbol tells you what kind of field it is.
From Suits · Spanish audio
Words you'll hear at a soccer game
Six words for the stands, the field and the TV.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el equipo | team |
| el gol | goal (a score) |
| el portero, la portera | goalkeeper |
| el árbitro | referee |
| la cancha | field, in much of Latin America |
| el Mundial | the World Cup |
Tip: When a team scores, fans shout ¡Gol!, and they often stretch the o for as long as their breath lasts.
Grammar: el fútbol
Four points for talking about the game.
The ú sets the stress
Words ending in -l are normally stressed at the end. The accent on ú pulls the stress forward: FOOT-bohl.Soccer or American football
el fútbol on its own is soccer. For the NFL game, add the adjective after it: el fútbol americano.Game, field, ball
un partido de fútbol is a soccer game, el campo de fútbol is the field, and the ball is el balón.The player
el futbolista, la futbolista. This longer word has no accent mark, because the stress moves to -lis-.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Me gusta el fútbol.
I like soccer.
Tú nunca juegas al fútbol.
You never play soccer.
Pero yo fui una estrella en el fútbol.
But I was a soccer star.
Ese es el campo de fútbol.
That's the soccer field.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗el fútbol (meaning the NFL game)
✓el fútbol americano
Without americano, every Spanish speaker will think of soccer.
✗un fútbol (the ball)
✓un balón
Fútbol only names the sport. The ball is el balón, or la pelota in many countries.
✗futbol (in Spain)
✓fútbol
Spain writes the accent and stresses the first syllable. Futbol without it is the Mexican form.
Real conversation: Sunday plans
A short dialog with a classmate about today and the summer.
It's Sunday, and your classmate Natalia is talking with you about plans for today and for the summer.
Hoy es domingo. ¿Vamos a la ópera?
It's Sunday today. Should we go to the opera?
En realidad, me gusta el fútbol.
Actually, I like soccer.
Ah, pues a mí me gusta el tenis.
Oh, well, I like tennis.
Your turn to answer
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How to remember it
Fútbol is the English word football in Spanish spelling: foot became fút and ball became bol.
Questions about "soccer" in Spanish
How do you say soccer in Spanish?
El fútbol. It's the same word Spanish speakers use for what the British call football.
How do you say American football in Spanish?
El fútbol americano. If you only say fútbol, people will understand soccer.
Is it fútbol or futbol?
Both are correct. Fútbol, stressed on the first syllable, is the form in Spain and most of Latin America, and futbol, stressed at the end, is common in Mexico and Central America.
How do you say "I play soccer" in Spanish?
Juego al fútbol. In much of Latin America people also drop the al: Juego fútbol.
