Phrase guide

rock paper scissors

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A popular children's game using three hand signs representing rock, paper and scissors, frequently used as a tiebreaker.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Qualifier: hand games

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any situation where strategies are not transitive, meaning each strategy is strong against some strategies and weak against others in a loop such that there is no universally best option.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

After the handshapes.

Across languages

Translations

75 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: حَجَر وَرَقَة مِقَصّ (ḥajar waraqa miqaṣṣ) — popular child's game
  • Arabic: حَجَر وَرَق مِقَصّ (ḥajar waraq miqaṣṣ) — popular child's game
  • Armenian: չինգաչունգ (čʻingačʻung) — popular child's game
  • Armenian: քար, մկրատ, թուղթ (kʻar, mkrat, tʻuġtʻ) — popular child's game
  • Azerbaijani: ciciko — popular child's game
  • Azerbaijani: daş, qayçı, kağız — popular child's game
  • Basque: harri-orri-ar — popular child's game
  • Bulgarian: ка́мък, но́жица, харти́я (kámǎk, nóžica, hartíja) — popular child's game
  • Burmese: စုံစွမ်စိ (cumcwamci.) — popular child's game
  • Catalan: pedra, paper, tisores — popular child's game
  • Chinese Cantonese: 包剪揼 (baau1 zin2 dap6) — popular child's game
  • Chinese: 鉸刀石頭紙 /铰刀石头纸 (ka-to-chio̍h-thâu-chóa) — popular child's game
  • Chinese Mandarin: 石頭剪子布 /石头剪子布 (shítou jiǎnzi bù) — popular child's game
  • Chinese Mandarin: 剪刀石頭布 /剪刀石头布 (jiǎndāo shítou bù) — popular child's game
  • Cornish: men paper gwelsigow — popular child's game
  • Czech: kámen, nůžky, papír — popular child's game
  • Danish: sten, saks, papir — popular child's game
  • Dutch: steen, papier, schaar — popular child's game
  • Dutch: blad-steen-schaar — popular child's game
  • Dutch: schaar steen papier — popular child's game
  • Esperanto: papero, tondilo, ŝtono — popular child's game
  • Estonian: kivi-paber-käärid — popular child's game
  • Finnish: kivi-sakset-paperi — popular child's game
  • Finnish: kivi-paperi-sakset — popular child's game
  • French: pierre-feuille-ciseaux — popular child's game
  • French: chifoumi — popular child's game
  • Galician: pedra, papel, tesoura — popular child's game
  • German: Schnick Schnack Schnuck — popular child's game
  • German: Schere, Stein, Papier — popular child's game
  • German: Ching, Chang, Chong — popular child's game
  • German: Klick, Klack, Kluck — popular child's game
  • Hebrew: אבן נייר ומספריים — popular child's game
  • Hebrew: אֶבֶן נְיָר וּמִסְפָּרַיִם (éven n'yár u-misparáyim) — popular child's game
  • Hindi: रॉक कागज कैंची (rŏk kāgaj ka͠icī) — popular child's game
  • Hungarian: kő-papír-olló — popular child's game
  • Indonesian: gunting, batu, kertas — popular child's game
  • Indonesian: batu, gunting, kertas — popular child's game
  • Indonesian: suit — popular child's game
  • Indonesian: suten — popular child's game
  • Irish: cloch páipéar siosúr — popular child's game
  • Italian: morra cinese — popular child's game
  • Italian: carta, forbice, sasso — popular child's game
  • Japanese: じゃん拳 — popular child's game
  • Japanese: じゃんけん (janken) — popular child's game
  • Japanese: じゃん拳ぽん — popular child's game
  • Japanese: じゃんけんぽん (jankenpon) — popular child's game
  • Korean: 가위바위보 (gawibawibo) — popular child's game
  • Korean: 돌가위보 (dolgawibo) — popular child's game
  • Korean: 가위주먹 (gawijumeok) — popular child's game
  • Korean: 주먹가위 (jumeokgawi) — popular child's game
  • Northern Kurdish: kevir kaxez meqes — popular child's game
  • Northern Kurdish: ber per meqes — popular child's game
  • Latvian: akmens, šķēres, papīrīt's — popular child's game
  • Macedonian: лист камен ножички (list kamen nožički) — popular child's game
  • Maltese: karta, ġebla jew imqass — popular child's game
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stein, saks, papir — popular child's game
  • Polish: papier, kamień, nożyce — popular child's game
  • Polish: marynarzyk — popular child's game
  • Portuguese: pedra-papel-tesoura — popular child's game
  • Portuguese: joquempô — popular child's game
  • Russian: ка́мень, но́жницы, бума́га (kámenʹ, nóžnicy, bumága) — popular child's game
  • Spanish: piedra, papel o tijera — popular child's game
  • Spanish: yan ken po — popular child's game
  • Spanish: cachipún — popular child's game
  • Spanish: jankenpon — popular child's game
  • Spanish: yanquempó — popular child's game
  • Swedish: sten, sax, påse — popular child's game
  • Tagalog: jak-en-poy — popular child's game
  • Tagalog: bato bato pik — popular child's game
  • Thai: เป่ายิ้งฉุบ (bpào-yíng-chùp) — popular child's game
  • Turkish: taş kağıt makas — popular child's game
  • Ukrainian: ка́мінь-но́жиці-папі́р (káminʹ-nóžyci-papír) — popular child's game
  • Vietnamese: oẳn tù tì — popular child's game
  • Vietnamese: xù xi — popular child's game
  • Vietnamese: kéo búa bao — popular child's game