morra cinese
feminine
Rock paper scissors in Italian is morra cinese. Wiktionary also lists carta, forbice, sasso.
Meaning: popular child's game (noun)
Ways to say it
| Italian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| morra cinese | feminine | |
| carta, forbice, sasso | /ˈkar.ta ˈfɔr.bi.t͡ʃe ˈsas.so/ (word by word) | masculine |
The phrase refers to the popular children's game. While morra cinese is the name of the game, players often refer to the individual elements as carta, forbice, sasso.
What does it mean word for word?
morra cinese literally translates to 'Chinese morra', referring to a traditional hand game.
Which one should you use?
carta, forbice, sasso refers to the individual elements: paper, scissors and rock.
Did you know?
- The name morra cinese is based on a mistaken assumption that the game originated in China.
- In Italy, morra was historically played as a high-stakes gambling game among adults, unlike the child-friendly morra cinese.
- While morra cinese is the game name, the word morra also refers to a traditional Italian hand game that is entirely different from rock paper scissors.
Examples in context
- Giochiamo a morra cinese?Shall we play rock paper scissors?
- Ho vinto con la morra cinese.I won with rock paper scissors.
- La morra cinese è un gioco classico.Rock paper scissors is a classic game.
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding who goes first in a game.
- MartinaMatteo, facciamo una morra cinese per decidere?Matteo, shall we do a round of rock paper scissors to decide?
- MatteoVa bene, ci sto.Alright, I'm in.
- MartinaSasso, carta, forbice!Rock, paper, scissors!
- MatteoHo vinto io!I won!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “rock paper scissors” translations and entries morra cinese, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (carta, forbice, sasso) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries carta, cinese, forbice, morra, morra cinese, sasso, CC BY-SA 4.0.
