Japanese word

パー

Pronunciation

Romajipā

Meaning

  • nounpaper

Example

じゃんけんでパーを出します。ja n ke n de pā o da shi ma su

I throw paper in rock-paper-scissors.

Illustration for パー (paper)

More examples

次のじゃんけんではパーを出します。tsugi no ja n ke n de wa pā o da shi ma su

I'll play paper in the next round of rock-paper-scissors.

Core concept

Treats a conventional sign or result as meaningful under agreed rules, as with the paper hand in a game and a score equal to the expected strokes in golf.

Common phrases

  • パーを出すpā o da su

    play paper

Definition in Japanese

じゃんけんで、手のひらを広げて紙を表す形、またはその形を選ぶこと。ja n ke n de te no hi ra o hiro ge te kami o arawa su katachi ma ta wa so no katachi o era bu ko to

Word origin

In the game sense, パー (pā, "paper") is a shortened form of ペーパー (pēpā, "paper"); the golf sense is borrowed from English par, based on Latin par, "equal".

Usage tips

  • The phrase under par means fewer strokes than the standard, which helps separate the golf sense of パー (pā) from the paper sign in じゃんけん (janken).

Other meanings

  • parnoun

Word lists with this word