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じゃんけん Japanese meaning | Kotomora

じゃんけん

じゃ

ん

け

ん

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

rock-paper-scissors; janken

usually written using kana alone

The hand game played by two or more people, often to decide something. Can also be used as a verb with する (じゃんけんする).

じゃんけんで勝かった人ひとが先さきに選えらべるよ。
The person who wins at rock-paper-scissors gets to choose first.
どっちがやるか、

じゃんけん

で

決き

めよう

。

Let's decide who does it by playing rock-paper-scissors.

Written forms

じゃんけんUsage48%
Standard kana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
ジャンケンUsage52%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling, often used in casual or emphatic contexts.
じゃん拳けん
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using 拳 (fist).

Kanji

拳fist

Etymology

The exact origin is uncertain. The word may derive from じゃんけんぽん, a chant used during the game, possibly influenced by Chinese or onomatopoeic elements.