<p>Depend on context “player”  have to be translated differently according to the adjectival description </p>

<ol>
<li><p>team athlete: '运动员/ 员'- e.g. 篮球运动员/ 篮球员 (basketball player); 足球运动员/ 足球员 (football player)</p></li>
<li><p>individual athlete: '手' - e.g. 网球手 (tennis player); 羽毛球手 (badminton player)</p></li>
<li><p>musical instruments player : '演奏者' -  e.g. 钢琴演奏者 (Piano player); 吉他演奏者 (guitar player)</p></li>
<li><p>game player : '玩者/ 玩家' e.g. 游戏玩者/ 游戏玩家 (game player); </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Note:</p>

<p><em>钢琴家 = (professional, master) pianist</em></p>

<p><em>吉他手 = (professional, master) guitarist</em></p>

<ul>
<li><p>sport team is called 队 as in 上海足球队, 上海篮球队 (both can be called 上海队); 球队 just means team(s) of a sport involving a ball, as in '上海的球队' (Shanghai's teams)</p></li>
<li><p>For pro soccer organization, we usually call it 足球俱乐部 or 足球球會/ 球會 (soccer club) , the 足球队 (soccer team) belong to the 球會 (club) </p></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-25T22:44:47.367Z
Thank you! As always, you gave a very thorough answer.
MrVocabulary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-25T14:58:33.613Z
2018-11-25T15:05:06.770Z
2018-11-25T15:05:06.770Z
Tang Ho
<p>Your thinking is correct!
班 is always 班级 (bānjí) — usually it means "class"</p>

<p>团队 (tuánduì) — you might consider the word as "group"</p>

<p>组别 (zǔbié) — also means "group", but it doesn't always have many people in the group</p>

<p>球队 (qiúduì) — sports team involving a ball, it's only used in ball games, like 足球队 (football team), 篮球队 (basketball team)…</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-25T14:57:50.977Z
Oh, I see, this is very helpful. It seems to me, looking at examples, that 组别 is about categories, classes etc. – any grouping for a specific purpose. Would you agree?
MrVocabulary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-25T13:58:30.920Z
2018-11-26T13:09:49.250Z
2018-11-26T13:09:49.250Z
Yuanning Zhao
<p>I have noticed there is a large number of words that translate as “player” and “team”. I've been trying to decipher those and so far it seems that:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>玩家 wánjiā, 玩者 wánzhě  – those two mean a player of a game</p>
  
  <p>竞赛者 jìngsài zhě – this one would be a contestant in a game such as
  race?</p>
  
  <p>游戏者 yóuxì zhě – a video game player or gamer</p>
  
  <p>球员 qiúyuán – player of a game involving a ball, such as football,
  basketball (golf?) etc.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>And there there are the teams:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>班 bān – team?</p>
  
  <p>团队 tuándu – team?</p>
  
  <p>组别 zǔbié – team?</p>
  
  <p>球队 qiúduì – sports team involving a ball</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Is my thinking correct? What is the difference between those terms? Are there other terms I am missing here?</p>

<translation><word-choice><synonyms>
How do I translate the words “player” and “team” into Mandarin?
# How do I translate the words “player” and “team” into Mandarin?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-11-25)

I have noticed there is a large number of words that translate as “player” and “team”. I've been trying to decipher those and so far it seems that:

> 玩家 wánjiā, 玩者 wánzhě – those two mean a player of a game
>
> 竞赛者 jìngsài zhě – this one would be a contestant in a game such as
> race?
>
> 游戏者 yóuxì zhě – a video game player or gamer
>
> 球员 qiúyuán – player of a game involving a ball, such as football,
> basketball (golf?) etc.

And there there are the teams:

> 班 bān – team?
>
> 团队 tuándu – team?
>
> 组别 zǔbié – team?
>
> 球队 qiúduì – sports team involving a ball

Is my thinking correct? What is the difference between those terms? Are there other terms I am missing here?

**Tags:** translation, word-choice, synonyms

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-11-25. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Depend on context “player” have to be translated differently according to the adjectival description

1. team athlete: '运动员/ 员'- e.g. 篮球运动员/ 篮球员 (basketball player); 足球运动员/ 足球员 (football player)
2. individual athlete: '手' - e.g. 网球手 (tennis player); 羽毛球手 (badminton player)
3. musical instruments player : '演奏者' - e.g. 钢琴演奏者 (Piano player); 吉他演奏者 (guitar player)
4. game player : '玩者/ 玩家' e.g. 游戏玩者/ 游戏玩家 (game player);

Note:

*钢琴家 = (professional, master) pianist*

*吉他手 = (professional, master) guitarist*

* sport team is called 队 as in 上海足球队, 上海篮球队 (both can be called 上海队); 球队 just means team(s) of a sport involving a ball, as in '上海的球队' (Shanghai's teams)
* For pro soccer organization, we usually call it 足球俱乐部 or 足球球會/ 球會 (soccer club) , the 足球队 (soccer team) belong to the 球會 (club)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you! As always, you gave a very thorough answer.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-11-25. Score: 2

Your thinking is correct!
班 is always 班级 (bānjí) — usually it means "class"

团队 (tuánduì) — you might consider the word as "group"

组别 (zǔbié) — also means "group", but it doesn't always have many people in the group

球队 (qiúduì) — sports team involving a ball, it's only used in ball games, like 足球队 (football team), 篮球队 (basketball team)…

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Oh, I see, this is very helpful. It seems to me, looking at examples, that 组别 is about categories, classes etc. – any grouping for a specific purpose. Would you agree?  

---

