'奥运会' (Ào yùn huì) is the standard Chinese term for the Olympic Games — the world’s premier international multi-sport event held every four years. The word combines three characters: '奥' (Ào), short for '奥林匹克' (Ào lín pǐ kè, 'Olympic'), borrowed from the Greek 'Olympia'; '运' (yùn), meaning 'sports' or 'athletic activity', as in '运动' (yùn dòng); and '会' (huì), meaning 'gathering', 'assembly', or 'conference'. Together, they literally convey 'Olympic sports assembly' — a concise, formal compound widely used in news, official documents, and everyday speech.

The term refers specifically to both the Summer and Winter Olympics, though context usually clarifies which. It's a proper noun and always capitalized in Chinese writing (though Chinese lacks capital letters, it's treated as a title). Major host cities like Beijing (2008, 2022) are often associated with the term, reinforcing its connection to global venues and national prestige.