Japanese word

じゃんけん

Pronunciation

Romajijanken

Meaning

  • nounrock-paper-scissors

Example

じゃんけんで順番を決めましょう。ja n ke n de jun ban o ki me ma shō

Let's decide the order with rock-paper-scissors.

Illustration for じゃんけん (rock-paper-scissors)

More examples

みんなでじゃんけんをします。mi n na de ja n ke n o shi ma su

We play rock-paper-scissors together.

三人でじゃんけんをして、代表を一人選びました。san nin de ja n ke n o shi te dai hyō o hito ri era bi ma shi ta

The three of us played rock-paper-scissors to choose one representative.

Core concept

Describes a hand game in which players reveal one of three signs at the same time to settle a choice.

Common phrases

  • じゃんけんをするja n ke n o su ru

    play rock-paper-scissors

  • じゃんけんで決めるja n ke n de ki me ru

    decide by playing rock-paper-scissors

  • じゃんけんに勝つja n ke n ni ka tsu

    win at rock-paper-scissors

  • じゃんけんに負けるja n ke n ni ma ke ru

    lose at rock-paper-scissors

Definition in Japanese

三種類の手の形を同時に出し、勝敗によって物事の順番や役割を決める遊び。san shu rui no te no katachi o dō ji ni da shi shō hai ni yo tte mono goto no jun ban ya yaku wari o ki me ru aso bi

Word origin

The noun じゃんけん (janken) is commonly traced to 石拳 (jakuken, "stone fist"), an older name for the hand game; the sound shifted from jakuken to janken.

Usage tips

  • In Japanese, じゃんけんぽん (janken pon) is the traditional chant used as players reveal their hands, much as English speakers say "rock, paper, scissors, shoot."

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