Meanings
alternative koi koi · alternative koikoi
- uncountablecard gamesA Japanese card game for two players played with hanafuda cards, similar to the Korean game of go-stop
In Korea we used to play Hwatu, which means, literally, “the battle of the flowers”, but there were also other games such as Koi-Koi and Go-Stop.
2015, Anthony Horowitz, “ ‘Pick a Card...’ ” (chapter 10), in Trigger Mortis: A James Bond Novel, Orion, →ISBN3 more examples
Reason: The accused has done gambling so called "Koikoi" "Atosaki" about 5 times, continuing his criminal intent, during the period from August 30, 1946, to September 19, 1946 by using Hana Cards with Takesada Mishina and several others at the house of Takesada Mishina No. 611, Imaichi, Imaichi-machi, Kamitsuga-gun, Tochigi-ken.
1948, Official Gazette. English Edition: Issues 526-548The card game involved, called koi-koi, was a kind of Japanese pelmanism and Mitsu had often seen Taguchi-san engrossed in a game with one of his colleagues during the lunch-break.
1994, Shūsaku Endō, translated by Mark Williams, The Girl I Left Behind, New Directions, →ISBN, page 67Couldn't we play with hanafuda cards instead? I asked. I had a decent amount of experience with oichokabu or koi koi thanks to playing with my mom's family in the countryside.
2013, Nagaru Tanigawa, translated by Paul Tuttle Starr, The Surprise of Haruhi Suzumiya, volume 2, Yen Press, →ISBN
alternative koi koi · alternative koikoi
- card gamesA call made by a potential winner in a round of koi-koi who wishes to continue the round, risking losing the points they earned so far for a chance to earn more points
All right, koi-koi! Here! Boar, deer, butterfly. Boom!!
2017, Akiko Higashimura, “The Little Match Girl” (chapter 61), in anonymous translator, Princess Jellyfish 6, Kodansha Comics, →ISBN1 more example
He may also continue, if he thinks he has a chance to make another bonus combination. If he takes this risk, he says, "come on." or "koi koi." but if his opponent makes a bonus combination before he can do so, he forfeits everything gained in that hand.
1970, Japan Publications, Hanafuda: The Flower Card Game, Japan Publications, →ISBN, page 83Synonyms: koi
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionA call made by a potential winner in a round of koi-koi who wishes to continue the round, risking losing the points they earned so far for a chance to earn more points
Origin
- Japaneseこいこい
- Englishkoi-koi
Borrowed from Japanese こいこい (koikoi), a reduplication of 来(こ)い (koi, imperative form of 来(く)る (kuru, “to come”)).
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 來來 /来来
- 來來 /来来 (láilái)Translations
Japanese こいこい, こいこい
- こいこい (koikoi)Translations
- こいこい (koikoi)Translations
- 来い (koi)Translations
Korean 코이코이
- 코이코이 (koikoi)Translations
Polish koi-koi, koi-koi
- koi-koiTranslations
- koi-koiTranslations
Cite this entry
koi-koi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/koi-koi
“koi-koi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/koi-koi. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “koi-koi,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/koi-koi.
Source: koi-koi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.