Mahjong glossary: A complete reference of Mahjong terminology, covering Chinese, Japanese, and English terms used across all major variants. Terms are organized alphabetically.

How to Use This Glossary

Terms are listed alphabetically by their most common English or romanized name. Where multiple names exist (Chinese vs. Japanese vs. English), all are listed. Terms specific to one variant are noted.

All Simples (Tanyao)

A hand containing only tiles numbered 2 through 8 — no terminals (1s or 9s) and no honor tiles. A common 1-han yaku in Riichi Mahjong.

Bamboo (Sticks / Suo)

One of the three suits. Tiles numbered 1–9, depicted with bamboo sticks. Also called Sticks or Suo (索).

Bonus Tiles

Flower and Season tiles. When drawn, they are revealed, set aside, and replaced with a tile from the dead wall. They add points but are not part of the hand.

Calling

The act of claiming another player’s discarded tile to complete a set. Includes chi, pon, and kan. Also called “melding” or “opening.”

Characters (Wan)

One of the three suits. Tiles numbered 1–9, depicted with Chinese characters and the symbol 萬 (ten thousand).

Chi (Chii / Chow)

Claiming the previous player’s discard to complete a sequence (three consecutive same-suit tiles). Only the player next in turn order can call chi. The completed sequence is placed face-up.

Concealed Hand (Menzen)

A hand in which no sets have been claimed from other players’ discards (no calling). Concealed hands are eligible for bonus scoring in most variants and are required for riichi declaration.

Dama (Riichi)

Staying in tenpai without declaring riichi. The player maintains flexibility and secrecy but forfeits the riichi bonus scoring.

Dead Wall (Wanpai) (Riichi)

A section of the wall (typically 14 tiles) reserved for replacement draws (after kan) and dora indicators. Not used for normal draws.

Dealer (East / Oya)

The player in the East seat who acts first, deals tiles, and receives bonus payments for winning. The dealer position rotates when the dealer does not win a hand.

Discard (Sutehai)

A tile thrown away face-up after drawing. Discarded tiles are arranged in front of each player for all to see.

Discard Pool (Kawa)

The collection of face-up tiles a player has discarded over the course of a hand. Reading discard pools is a core strategic skill.

Dora (Riichi)

Bonus tiles in Riichi Mahjong identified by an indicator tile on the dead wall. Each dora in a winning hand adds 1 han. Types include regular dora, kan dora, ura-dora, and red fives.

Dots (Circles / Pinzu)

One of the three suits. Tiles numbered 1–9, depicted with circular dots.

Dragon Tiles (Sangenpai)

Three honor tiles: Red Dragon (Chun/中), Green Dragon (Hatsu/發), and White Dragon (Haku/白). Four copies of each. Triplets of dragons score yakuhai in Riichi Mahjong.

Draw (Exhaustive Draw / Ryuukyoku)

When the wall runs out of tiles before anyone wins. In Riichi Mahjong, players in tenpai receive points from players not in tenpai.

East Round (Tonpuu)

The first round of a Mahjong game. Each player serves as dealer once (unless a dealer wins and continues). Sometimes used as a short game format.

Eyes (Jantou / Pair)

The pair in a winning hand. A standard Mahjong hand needs exactly one pair (two identical tiles) alongside four sets.

Fan (Han / Faan)

A scoring multiplier. Patterns in a winning hand contribute fan/han, which determine the hand’s final point value. “Fan” is used in Chinese variants, “han” in Japanese Mahjong.

Flower Tiles

Four unique bonus tiles (Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo). Set aside when drawn and worth bonus points.

Fu (Riichi)

Base points in Riichi Mahjong scoring, determined by the composition of the hand (types of melds, wait pattern, etc.). Combined with han to calculate the final score.

Furiten (Riichi)

A state where your winning tile exists in your own discard pool. Furiten players cannot win by ron — they must win by tsumo. A critical defensive mechanic.

Honba (Riichi)

A counter that increases after draws or dealer wins. Each honba adds a bonus payment (typically 300 points) to the next hand’s winner.

Honor Tiles (Jihai)

Wind tiles (East, South, West, North) and Dragon tiles (Red, Green, White). Cannot form sequences — only triplets and pairs.

Ippatsu (Riichi)

Winning within one turn cycle of declaring riichi (before anyone makes a call). Worth 1 additional han.

Kan (Kong)

A set of four identical tiles. Three types exist: concealed kan (all four drawn), added kan (adding to an existing pon), and open kan (claiming a discard to complete four).

Limit Hand

A hand whose value exceeds the scoring cap. In Riichi Mahjong: mangan (5 han), haneman (6–7), baiman (8–10), sanbaiman (11–12), yakuman (13+). Each has a fixed payout.

Meld

A completed set of tiles — either a sequence, triplet, or quad. Open melds are formed by claiming discards; concealed melds are formed entirely from draws.

Noten (No-ten)

Not in tenpai when a hand ends in a draw. Non-tenpai players pay a penalty to tenpai players.

Open Hand

A hand in which at least one set was formed by claiming a discard. Open hands lose access to certain yaku and bonuses.

Pon (Pung)

Claiming any player’s discard to complete a triplet (three identical tiles). Takes priority over chi.

Reach → See Riichi

Red Five (Aka Dora) (Riichi)

An optional rule where one 5 in each suit is colored red and functions as a permanent dora tile (+1 han). Very common in modern Riichi Mahjong.

Riichi (立直)

A declaration made when a player has a concealed hand in tenpai. The player stakes 1,000 points and locks their hand. Riichi is itself a yaku worth 1 han and enables ura-dora and ippatsu bonuses.

Ron

Winning by claiming another player’s discard as your winning tile. The player who discarded pays the winner.

Round Wind

The wind associated with the current round (East round, South round, etc.). A triplet of the round wind scores bonus fan/han.

Safe Tile

A tile that can be discarded without risk (or with reduced risk) of dealing into an opponent’s win. Identifying safe tiles is a core defensive skill.

Seat Wind

The wind assigned to a player’s position at the table (East, South, West, North). A triplet of your seat wind scores bonus fan/han.

Season Tiles

Four unique bonus tiles (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter). Set aside when drawn and worth bonus points.

Sequence → See Chi

Simples (Tanyaohai)

Tiles numbered 2 through 8 in any suit. Simples are more flexible than terminals because they can be part of more sequence combinations.

Suji (Riichi)

A defensive technique using mathematical reasoning: if a player discards 4, tiles 1 and 7 of that suit become relatively safer (because 4 would be needed for 1-2-3 or 4-5-6, which conflicts with the discard).

Tenpai

One tile away from completing a winning hand. Being in tenpai is a prerequisite for declaring riichi and for receiving points in a draw.

Terminal

Tiles numbered 1 or 9 in any suit. Terminals are at the edges, limiting their sequence possibilities but featuring in many scoring patterns.

Triplet → See Pon

Tsumo

Winning by drawing the winning tile yourself from the wall. In Riichi Mahjong, all three opponents share the payment.

Ura-dora (Riichi)

Hidden dora revealed only when a player wins after declaring riichi. Tiles under the regular dora indicator(s) are flipped, and the tiles one step above are ura-dora.

Wait (Machi)

The specific tile(s) that would complete a tenpai hand. Common wait types include two-sided (ryanmen), one-sided (penchan), middle (kanchan), and pair (shanpon).

Wall

The square structure of face-down tiles built at the start of each hand. Players draw from the wall during the game.

Wind Tiles (Kazehai)

Four honor tiles: East (東), South (南), West (西), North (北). Four copies of each. Score bonus value when they match a player’s seat wind or the round wind.

Yaku (Riichi)

A scoring pattern required to win in Riichi Mahjong. Every winning hand must contain at least one yaku. Examples: riichi, tanyao, pinfu, tsumo, yakuhai.

Yakuman (Riichi)

The highest scoring tier in Riichi Mahjong. Yakuman hands are extremely rare and include Thirteen Orphans, Four Concealed Triplets, and Big Three Dragons.

Further Reading