17th October 2021
The most common name for paper, scissors, stone is rock, paper, scissors but there are other names for it too.
In the English speaking world ‘tossing1 a coin’ is the first thing people think of when doing something to decide something that is not so important .. or maybe something that is important. In Japan, paper, scissors, stone is the main way to decide something and children learn it from an early age. It is called, じゃんけん (janken). It is so much part of the culture that people almost automatically start to do it in some situations, without even saying to each other they will do it. People do it as individuals2 or often as representatives3 of a group, for example in a class or in a sporting situation.
Rock, paper, scissors is known in many countries and it seems to have originated in China and then spread to Japan.
Janken is done between two people or more than two people and if it’s done in a group of people it takes more time to decide the winner or winners as you can imagine. When people do it they say じゃん、けん、ぽん（jan, ken, pon) and show their hand as4 they say ‘pon’. Whenever people make the same sign, they say あいこでしょ (aikodesho) and they quickly do it again.
An example that shows paper, scissors, stone is part of the culture is when people are watching TV animations. After some animations have finished, the viewer plays against one of the animation characters. The viewer registers the sign they will make, either paper, scissors or stone, by using the TV remote control sometime during the programme, maybe during a commercial break. If someone wins many times, they can get a prize if they apply5 for it.
One more example of janken is janken with snacks. The packets of some individually wrapped snacks, for example senbei (rice crackers) have a rock, paper or scissors picture on the back of the individual packets. If people are together, they can turn the back of the snack packets around at the same time to face their opponent or opponents6.
3. ‘representative’
<Example sentences>
■ We voted for our class representative today.
■ How do you choose the representatives?
4. ‘as’
<Example sentences>
■ They started to open out their umbrellas as it started to rain.
■ As it got darker the drivers started to put on their headlights.
■ The strong heat from the oven hit me as I opened the oven door.
5. to ‘apply’ / ‘application’
<Example sentences>
■ I have applied for three different jobs.
■ My passport will finish this summer so I have to apply for a new one soon.
■ How many universities did you apply for?
■ It took a long time to write the application form for my new credit card.
6. ‘opponent’
<Example sentences>
■ You should shake hands with your opponent after the match.
■ She is a tough opponent.
■ Who are your next opponents?
■Do you think it’s only luck or is skill involved in it?
■Is there any other way you decide things apart from paper, scissors, stone?
■ We toss a coin to decide things. It’s called ‘heads or tails’. We sometimes also ~.
■What ways do you decide things?
■I’ve seen a rock, paper, scissors competition before. It was at ~.
- to ‘toss’ means to ‘throw gently’.
- ‘individual’ means ‘one person’ – not a group or pair.
- in this sentence ‘representative’ means ‘someone who has been chosen to make decisions for a group of people’.
- in this sentence ‘as’ means ‘at the same time as’. It is similar to ‘when’.
- ‘apply’ means ‘to ask for something. You give some information to get the thing you ask for.
- ‘opponent’ means ‘the person or group you are playing against or fighting. You are trying to win against them.