For the true student of chinese, here are the nicknames of “players”:http://www.nbcolympics.com/newscenter/news/newsid=236723.html. Some are really great!
| Athlete | Nickname | Pinyin | Translation | Explanation |
| LeBron James | ÃĨ°ÂÃ§ÅĄâĄÃĨ¸ | xiao3 huang2 di4 | Little Emperor | He’s King James |
| Camelo Anthony | çâÅçâŠïÂŊÅ tian2 gua1 | Sweet Melon | Sweet and mellow |
| Michael Phelps | ÊÂŖÅžÃŠÂąÂŧ ïÂŊÅ fei1 yu2 | Flying fish | Fei mean Phelps |
| Ai Fukuhara | çâ¡ÃĨ¨ÆÃĨ嬮 | ci wa wa | Porcelain Doll | She crys a lot (Japan table tennis |
| Jeannie Long-Ciprelli | çÂĨâÃĻ¯ ïÂŊÅ zu3 mu3 | (paternal) Grandma | 50 years old in cycling |
| Lang Ping | ÊâÂÃĻÂĻâÃĨ¤´ ïÂŊÅ tie3 lang2 tou | Iron (sledge) Hammer | Great hitter |
| Roger Federer | ÃĨÂĨÂļçâ°âē | nai3 niu2 | Milk Cow | Got a cow after first Wimbleton win |
Final aside, on the proper way to say Olympics in Chinese. The long form is
| ÃĨÂĨÂĨÃĻÅžâÃĨÅšÃĨâĻâš | ao4 lin2 pi3 ke4 | Olympics |
| èÂŋÂÃĨŠ¨äÂŧÅĄ | yun4 dong4 hui4 | Games |
But this gets shortened to
| ÃĨÂĨÂĨèÂŋÂäÂŧÅĄ ïÂŊÅ ao4 yun4 hui4 | shorter |
| ÃĨÂĨÂĨèÂŋ | ao4 yun4 | even shorter |
| ÃĨâ ÂŦÃĨÂĨÂĨäÂŧÅĄ | dong1 ao4 yun4 | Winter olympics |
And here are the names of the various sports:
| äÂŊâÃĻâ | ti3 cao1 | gymnastics |
| ÃĻŨʊÂŦ | mu4 ma3 | vault horse |
| èâ°ÂēÃĻůäÂŊâÃĻâ | yi4 shu4 ti3 cao1 | tryhtmic gymnastics |
| ÃĨÂâĸÃĻÂÂ | dan1 gang4 | the bar |
| ÊŞÂʊÂŦ | an1 ma3 | pommel horse |
| ÃĨŠçÅŊ¯ | diao4 huan2 | hanging rings |
| ÃĨÂÅÃĻÂÂ | shuang2 gang4 | parallel bars |
| Ã¨ÂˇÂŗʊÂŦ | tiao4 ma3 | vaulting horse |
| ÃĨšÂŗÃ¨ÂĄÂĄÃĻŨ | ping2 heng2 mu4 | balance beam |
| ÊÂĢËäÂŊÅŊÃĻ | gao1 di1 gang4 | uneven bars |
| èâĄÂĒçâÂąÃ¤ÂŊâÃĻâ | zi4 you2 ti3 cao3 | floor exercises|
| ÊâŦâ°ÃĻâ°âš | xuan3 shou3 | athlete |
| ÃĻÂŗÂŗ ïÂŊÅ yong3 | swimming |
| èâēâĸÃĻÂŗÂŗ | wa1 yong3 | breaststroke (frog swim) |
| èâĄÂĒçâÂąÃĻÂŗÂŗ | zi4 you2 yong3 | freestyle (self cause swim) |
| èÂÂļÃĻÂŗÂŗ | die2 yong3 | butterfly stroke |
| ÃĻ°´çÂĢâšÃĻâš | shui3 li4 fang2 | The Water cube |
| ÃĨÅâäÂēÂŦÃĨâēÂŊÃĨÂŽÂļÃĻ¸¸ÃĻÂŗÂŗä¸ÂÃĨÂŋÆ | bei3 jing2 guo2 jia1 you2 yong3 zhong1 xin1 | Beijing ational Aquatic Center |
| 篎çÂÆ | lan2 qiu2 | basketball |
| ÃĻÅŊâçÂÆ | pai2 qiu2 | volleyball (line ball) |
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