--- title: "Chinese Jump Rope, the Chinese Yo-Yo and Other Traditional Games: How to Play, With Pinyin" description: "How to play the games Chinese children grow up with: Chinese jump rope 跳皮筋 and its rhyme, the Chinese yo-yo 空竹, shuttlecock kicking, eagle and chicks, rock paper scissors in Chinese, and 30 words with pinyin and sound." canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-traditional-games" author: "Mandarin The Wild" --- Free · 30 words # Chinese traditional games [Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E7%9A%AE%E7%AD%8B%20%E6%A9%A1%E7%9A%AE%E7%AD%8B%20%E8%B7%B3%E7%BB%B3%20%E6%AF%BD%E5%AD%90%20%E7%A9%BA%E7%AB%B9%20%E8%B7%B3%E6%88%BF%E5%AD%90%20%E9%99%80%E8%9E%BA%20%E6%94%BE%E9%A3%8E%E7%AD%9D%20%E9%A3%8E%E7%AD%9D%20%E6%8B%94%E6%B2%B3%20%E4%B8%A2%E6%89%8B%E7%BB%A2%20%E6%8D%89%E8%BF%B7%E8%97%8F%20%E6%9C%A8%E5%A4%B4%E4%BA%BA%20%E5%BC%B9%E7%8F%A0%20%E7%8E%BB%E7%92%83%E7%90%83%20%E8%B1%A1%E6%A3%8B%20%E5%9B%B4%E6%A3%8B%20%E8%B7%B3%E6%A3%8B%20%E4%BA%94%E5%AD%90%E6%A3%8B%20%E9%BA%BB%E5%B0%86%20%E6%89%91%E5%85%8B%20%E6%96%97%E5%9C%B0%E4%B8%BB%20%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%20%E7%8E%A9%20%E5%84%BF%E7%AB%A5%20%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%A9%20%E7%AB%A5%E5%B9%B4%20%E7%AB%A5%E8%B0%A3%20%E5%84%BF%E6%AD%8C%20%E9%A9%AC%E5%85%B0%E8%8A%B1) Speed ## Chinese traditional games, and how they are played | | In Chinese | How it is played | | --- | --- | --- | | Chinese jump rope | 跳皮筋 tiào píjīn | Two players hold a long loop of elastic round their ankles; the third jumps in, out and onto it in a set pattern, chanting, and the loop goes higher each round | | Shuttlecock kicking | 踢毽子 tī jiànzi | Keep a feathered shuttlecock in the air with your feet, alone or in a circle, counting the kicks | | Chinese yo-yo | 抖空竹 dǒu kōngzhú | Spin a diabolo along a string between two sticks, then toss it high and catch it; it hums as it spins | | Spinning top | 抽陀螺 chōu tuóluó | Whip a wooden top to keep it spinning on the ground | | Kite flying | 放风筝 fàng fēngzheng | Flown in spring, in shapes from swallows to long centipede dragons | | Eagle and chicks | 老鹰捉小鸡 lǎoyīng zhuō xiǎojī | The “chicks” line up holding on behind the “hen”, who spreads her arms to keep the “eagle” from catching the last one | | Drop the handkerchief | 丢手绢 diū shǒujuàn | Children sit in a circle and sing while one runs round and drops a handkerchief behind someone, who must catch them | | Statues | 一二三木头人 yī èr sān mùtourén | “One, two, three, wooden people!”: everyone freezes when the caller turns round, like red light, green light | | Rock paper scissors | 石头剪刀布 shítou jiǎndāo bù | Said as you throw, to decide who goes first | ## Outdoor games pí皮jīn筋 rubber band; hair tie xiàng橡pí皮jīn筋 rubber band tiào跳shéng绳 to jump rope; to skip rope jiàn毽zi子 shuttlecock (for kicking) kōng空zhú竹 diabolo (Chinese yo-yo) tiào跳fáng房zi子 hopscotch tuó陀luó螺 spinning top fàng放fēng风zheng筝 to fly a kite fēng风zheng筝 kite bá拔hé河 tug-of-war ## Playground games diū丢shǒu手juàn绢 drop the handkerchief (children's game) zhuō捉mí迷cáng藏 hide-and-seek mù木tou头rén人 statues (children's game, freeze tag) dàn弹zhū珠 marble (toy); pinball bō玻lí璃qiú球 glass ball; marble ## Board and card games xiàng象qí棋 Chinese chess wéi围qí棋 go (board game); weiqi tiào跳qí棋 Chinese checkers; checkers wǔ五zǐ子qí棋 gomoku; five in a row má麻jiàng将 mahjong pū扑kè克 poker; playing cards dòu斗dì地zhǔ主 Dou Dizhu ("fight the landlord", a popular card game) ## Play and childhood yóu游xì戏 game wán玩 to play; to have fun ér儿tóng童 child; children xiǎo小hái孩 child; kid tóng童nián年 childhood tóng童yáo谣 nursery rhyme; children's song ér儿gē歌 children's song; nursery rhyme mǎ马lán兰huā花 Chinese iris ## How do you play Chinese jump rope? In Chinese it is 跳皮筋 (tiào píjīn), jumping the elastic, played with a long loop of 橡皮筋 (xiàngpíjīn), rubber bands, tied together. Two players stand inside the loop to stretch it round their ankles; the third jumps a pattern, in, out, landing on the elastic and twisting it, while chanting a rhyme. Finish it and the loop goes up, to the knees, the thighs, the waist and higher; miss a step and you swap with a holder. ## What rhyme do children chant for Chinese jump rope? The best known counts to thirty-one: 小皮球，香蕉梨，马兰开花二十一，二五六，二五七，二八二九三十一 (xiǎo píqiú, xiāngjiāo lí, mǎlán kāihuā èrshíyī, èr wǔ liù, èr wǔ qī, èr bā èr jiǔ sānshíyī): “little ball, banana, pear, the iris blooms, twenty-one; two five six, two five seven, two eight, two nine, thirty-one.” It makes no sense, and that is the fun: the beat tells you when to jump. ## What is a Chinese yo-yo? 空竹 (kōngzhú), hollow bamboo: a diabolo, two hollow wheels on an axle, spun on a string tied between two sticks. Holes in the wheels make it hum as it spins. Playing it is 抖空竹 (dǒu kōngzhú), to shake the diabolo, and in Chinese parks early in the morning you will see retired people tossing it high and catching it behind their backs. ## How do you say rock paper scissors in Chinese? 石头剪刀布 (shítou jiǎndāo bù), rock, scissors, cloth, said together as you throw; some places say 剪刀石头布 (jiǎndāo shítou bù). Rock is 石头 (shítou), scissors 剪刀 (jiǎndāo), and paper is 布 (bù), cloth. ## What games do Chinese children play? In the playground: hide-and-seek, 捉迷藏 (zhuōmícáng), eagle and chicks, drop the handkerchief, statues, hopscotch, 跳房子 (tiàofángzi), skipping, 跳绳 (tiàoshéng), marbles, 弹珠 (dànzhū), and tug-of-war, 拔河 (báhé). A game is a 游戏 (yóuxì), and to play is 玩 (wán). ## What are traditional Chinese board games? Chinese chess, 象棋 (xiàngqí), and go, 围棋 (wéiqí), are the classics; five in a row, 五子棋 (wǔzǐqí), is played on a go board. At family gatherings it is mahjong, 麻将 (májiàng), or the card game 斗地主 (dòu dìzhǔ), fight the landlord. Chinese checkers, 跳棋 (tiàoqí), is a surprise: it was invented in Germany and named “Chinese” in America to sell it, though it is now played all over China. ## Can’t hear it? Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead. ## More Chinese culture - [Chinese chess pieces](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-chess-pieces) - [Chinese matching game](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-matching-game) - [Chinese folk performances](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-folk-performances) - [Classroom activities for teaching Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/teachers) Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the rules are the common ones, from Wikipedia’s Chinese jump rope, Diabolo and Jianzi, and they vary by school and region.