Japanese

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Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
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Kanji in this term
けん
Grade: S
on'yomi

Etymology

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There were various similar games originating in China that were played with the fist (, Japanese reading of ken). Possible derivations of janken include a shift from the Chinese pronunciation of 兩拳两拳 (literally both fists, two fists),[1][2] perhaps the Min Nan reading liáng kûn, or a shift from (shakken, literally stone fist), suggested also by the game's alternative name of 石拳 (ishiken, using the kun'yomi of ishi for the character).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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じゃん(けん) (janken

  1. rock paper scissors (popular children's game)

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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See also

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  • グー (, rock, in a game of rock, paper, scissors)
  • チョキ (choki, scissors, in a game of rock, paper, scissors)
  • パー (, paper, in a game of rock, paper, scissors)

Verb

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じゃん(けん)する (janken surusuru (stem じゃん(けん) (janken shi), past じゃん(けん)した (janken shita))

  1. to play rock paper scissors (popular child's game)

Conjugation

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Descendants

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  • English: janken

References

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  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. 4.0 4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN