(ごいし)

ごいし
noun
Go stone; game piece for Go
1. Go stone; game piece for Go
The round, flat stones used as playing pieces in the board game Go (囲碁). They come in two colors — black (黒石) and white (白石) — and are placed on the intersections of a grid.
碁石(ごいし)(なら)べる。
To line up Go stones.
(くろ)碁石(ごいし)(さき)()つ。
Black plays first.
高級(こうきゅう)碁石(ごいし)(はまぐり)(から)から(つく)られている。
High-quality Go stones are made from clamshells.

Compound of () (Go, the board game) and (いし) (stone). Traditional high-quality white stones are made from (はまぐり) (hard clam) shells from 日向(ひゅうが) in Miyazaki Prefecture, while black stones are made from 那智黒石(なちぐろいし) (Nachi black stone), a type of slate. Everyday sets use glass or plastic.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 碁石(ごいし)()つ — to play a Go stone
  • 碁石(ごいし)()く — to place a Go stone
  • 黒石(くろいし) — black stone
  • 白石(しろいし) — white stone

RELATED TERMS:

  • 囲碁(いご) — Go (the board game)
  • 碁盤(ごばん) — Go board
  • () — Go (short form)
  • 将棋(しょうぎ) — shogi; Japanese chess (another traditional board game)