石頭剪子布 / 石头剪子布
shítou jiǎnzi bù
Rock paper scissors in Mandarin is 石頭剪子布 / 石头剪子布 (shítou jiǎnzi bù). Wiktionary also lists 剪刀石頭布 / 剪刀石头布 (jiǎndāo shítou bù).
Meaning: popular child's game (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 石頭剪子布 / 石头剪子布 | shítou jiǎnzi bù |
| 剪刀石頭布 / 剪刀石头布 | jiǎndāo shítou bù |
The phrase refers to the popular child's game. You may also use the term 猜拳 (cāiquán) as a general noun to describe the act of playing hand games like rock paper scissors.
What does it mean word for word?
The default form 石頭剪子布 / 石头剪子布 is a literal list of the three elements: 石頭 (rock), 剪子 (scissors) and 布 (cloth).
Which one should you use?
While 石頭剪子布 / 石头剪子布 is the default form, it is extremely common to swap the order to 剪刀石頭布 / 剪刀石头布, which translates to scissors rock cloth.
How do you pronounce it?
shítou jiǎnzi bù
Did you know?
- The term 猜拳 (cāiquán) literally translates to 'guessing punches', suggesting a more combative origin than the English 'rock paper scissors'.
- Beyond the standard three gestures, some Chinese variations of 猜拳 use two hands or entirely different finger configurations.
- Players often shout the phrase 石頭剪子布 in a rhythmic, synchronized way to time their hand reveals.
Example sentences for Chinese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “rock paper scissors” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
