Riichi Mahjong Glossary

A winning hand in mahjong. The act of completing a valid winning hand and declaring victory. Can be won by drawing the final tile (tsumo) or by calling another player's discard (ron).

A concealed kan (four identical tiles) declared from tiles in your closed hand. Worth one dora indicator and maintains the closed status of your hand for certain yaku.

A rule set where both kuitan (open tanyao) and atozuke (winning with incomplete yaku) are allowed. The most common modern riichi mahjong rule set.

Winning with yaku that only becomes valid after the winning tile is drawn or called. For example, calling tiles to complete tanyao where the final tile confirms all simples.

A hand worth 6-7 han or 8,000 basic points (non-dealer) / 12,000 basic points (dealer). The payment is double that of mangan.

Complete defensive folding. Discarding only 100% safe tiles to avoid dealing into another player's hand, abandoning any chance of winning yourself.

Robbing a kan - winning by ron when another player adds a fourth tile to an existing pon (shouminkan). A 1-han yaku. Only works on shouminkan, not ankan or daiminkan.

Outside hand - a 2-han (closed) or 1-han (open) yaku where every meld and the pair contains a terminal or honor. All melds must include at least one terminal or honor.

Calling the previous player's discard to complete a sequence. Can only be called from the player to your left (kamisha). Opens your hand.

Seven pairs - a 2-han yaku where your hand consists of seven different pairs. Always worth exactly 25 fu. Must be closed.

Pure flush - a yaku worth 6 han (closed) or 5 han (open) where your entire hand consists of only one suit. No honor tiles allowed.

All terminals - a yakuman where your entire hand consists only of 1s and 9s. No simples or honors. Extremely rare.

The red dragon tile, one of the three dragon tiles (sangenpai). Forms yakuhai when you have a triplet.

Nine gates - a yakuman where you have 1112345678999 of one suit plus any tile of that suit. Must be closed. Pure form (waiting on all 9 tiles) is double yakuman in some rule sets.

A called kan made by adding a fourth tile from another player's discard to your existing pon. Considered an open meld.

Big three dragons - a yakuman where you have triplets of all three dragon tiles (white, green, red).

Big four winds - a double yakuman (in some rule sets) where you have triplets of all four winds. The rarest yakuman.

Short for damaten. Staying silent in tenpai without declaring riichi, keeping your hand closed and concealed while waiting to win.

Silent tenpai. Being in tenpai but not declaring riichi, keeping your wait pattern secret from opponents. Strategic when you want flexibility or when riichi isn't advantageous.

The last 14 tiles of the wall that are not drawn during normal play. Contains dora indicators and replacement tiles for kans.

The player with the East seat who starts the hand. Dealer wins and pays 50% more than non-dealers, and retains the dealer position if they win or if the hand ends in draw with dealer in tenpai.

Bonus tiles that add one han each to your hand's value. The dora indicator is revealed at the start of each hand, and the tile one rank higher is dora. Red fives are also dora in most rule sets.

An exhaustive draw where the wall runs out before anyone wins. Players in tenpai receive points from those not in tenpai. Also called ryuukyoku.

The first round of a hanchan where the round wind is East. Each player gets one turn as dealer (minimum 4 hands).

Minipoints that contribute to a hand's score. Based on composition (melds, wait pattern, pair, and win method). Combined with han to determine final payment.

A forbidden win state where you cannot win by ron. Occurs when you've previously discarded a tile you're waiting on, when you skip a winning call, or temporarily while in riichi after passing a ron opportunity.

A safe tile - specifically a tile that has been discarded by a player after they declared riichi. 100% safe to discard against that player's hand.

Your starting hand of 13 tiles dealt at the beginning of each round.

Winning on the last tile drawn from the wall. A 1-han yaku. Must be tsumo (self-draw).

The white dragon tile, one of the three dragon tiles (sangenpai). Often blank or has a blue border. Forms yakuhai when you have a triplet.

Doubles or multipliers that determine your hand's value. Each yaku is worth a certain number of han. Combined with fu to calculate the final score.

A half-game consisting of both East and South rounds (two full rotations). The standard game length for competitive riichi mahjong.

A hand worth 8-10 han or 12,000 basic points (non-dealer) / 18,000 basic points (dealer). Between baiman and sanbaiman in value.

The green dragon tile, one of the three dragon tiles (sangenpai). Forms yakuhai when you have a triplet.

Counter sticks indicating consecutive wins by the dealer or consecutive draws. Each honba adds 300 points per player to the next win.

Half flush - a yaku worth 3 han (closed) or 2 han (open) where your hand contains only one suit plus honor tiles. A common intermediate-level yaku.

The seven non-suited tiles: four winds (East, South, West, North) and three dragons (white, green, red). Cannot form sequences, only triplets/pairs.

Winning on the last discard before an exhaustive draw. A 1-han yaku. Must be ron.

One tile away from tenpai. Your hand needs one more useful tile to reach tenpai (ready to win). A key stage in hand development.

A 1-han yaku for winning within one turn cycle after declaring riichi, before your next turn. Negated if someone calls kan during the cycle.

Pure straight - a 2-han (closed) or 1-han (open) yaku where you have 123, 456, and 789 of the same suit.

The pair in your hand. Every winning hand requires exactly one pair and four melds (sequences or triplets).

Honor tiles - the seven tiles that are not numbered suits (four winds and three dragons).

Pure outside hand - a 3-han (closed) or 2-han (open) yaku where every meld and the pair contains a terminal (1 or 9). No honor tiles allowed.

Wall - a defensive reading technique where all four copies of a tile are visible, making certain waits impossible. Used to identify safe discards.

A quad - four identical tiles. Can be concealed (ankan), open (daiminkan), or added to an existing pon (shouminkan). Reveals an additional dora indicator.

A closed wait or inside straight wait. Waiting for the middle tile of a sequence (e.g., 35 waiting for 4). The least flexible wait pattern with only 4 tiles available.

Additional dora indicator revealed when a kan is declared. The tile shown on the fourth tile from the end of the dead wall.

Wind tiles - the four honor tiles representing East, South, West, and North. Each worth yakuhai if matching your seat wind or the round wind.

Counted yakuman - when a hand's han count reaches 13+ through combination of regular yaku and dora. Scored as yakuman in most rule sets.

Thirteen Orphans - a yakuman hand consisting of one of each terminal and honor tile, plus a pair of any of them. Must be closed.

Open tanyao - allowing tanyao to be scored with an open hand. The default rule in ari-ari mahjong but forbidden in nashi-nashi.

A limit hand worth 5 han (with 40+ fu) or 4 han (with 70+ fu), or 3 han with 110+ fu. Pays 8,000 (non-dealer) or 12,000 (dealer). The first scoring limit.

A set of tiles forming a sequence (shuntsu) or triplet (koutsu). A complete hand requires four melds plus one pair.

A 1-han yaku for winning by self-draw with a closed hand. Abbreviated as 'tsumo' in scoring.

Closed hand - a hand with no called melds (chi, pon, or open kan). Required for many yaku and adds 10 fu when winning by tsumo.

An open kan (quad) called from another player's discard or added to an existing pon. Opens your hand and reveals additional dora.

A special mangan awarded at an exhaustive draw when you've discarded only terminals and honors throughout the hand, and none were called. Optional rule.

A call - using another player's discard to complete a meld (chi, pon, or kan). Opens your hand and restricts certain yaku.

Not in tenpai at an exhaustive draw. Players not in tenpai pay points to those in tenpai.

A hand with called melds visible to all players. Scores less than closed hands for most yaku and cannot declare riichi.

The dealer (East player). Wins and pays 1.5x the amount of non-dealers.

Two identical tiles. Also called atama or jantou. Every standard winning hand requires exactly one pair.

An edge wait - waiting for 3 with 12, or waiting for 7 with 89. Only 4 tiles available, making it a weak wait.

All sequences - a 1-han yaku where your closed hand contains four sequences, a valueless pair, and waits on a double-sided wait (ryanmen). Worth exactly 20 fu when closed.

Calling another player's discard to complete a triplet. Can be called from any player out of turn. Opens your hand.

A dealer repeat - when the dealer wins or the hand ends in draw with dealer in tenpai, they remain dealer and a honba counter is added.

Declaring ready - a 1-han yaku and core mechanic of Japanese mahjong. Declared when in tenpai with a closed hand by paying 1,000 points and placing a stick. Locks your hand but enables additional yaku.

Winning on the replacement tile drawn after declaring kan. A 1-han yaku.

Winning by claiming another player's discard. The discarder pays the full amount. Cannot be declared if in furiten.

Double-sided wait - the strongest wait pattern, waiting on either side of a sequence (e.g., 45 waits on 3 or 6). 8 tiles available.

Two tiles away from tenpai. Your hand needs two more useful tiles to reach tenpai.

All green - a yakuman where your entire hand consists only of green tiles: 23468 of bamboo and green dragons.

Three concealed triplets - a 2-han yaku where you have three concealed triplets. One step below the yakuman suuankou.

A hand worth 11-12 han. Pays triple mangan: 24,000 (non-dealer) or 36,000 (dealer).

The three dragon tiles: white (haku), green (hatsu), and red (chun). Part of the honor tiles.

Three kans - a 2-han yaku where you have three quads (kan). Very rare. Four kans would be the yakuman suukantsu.

Three colored sequences - a 2-han (closed) or 1-han (open) yaku where you have the same sequence in all three suits (e.g., 234m, 234p, 234s).

Three colored triplets - a 2-han yaku where you have the same numbered triplet in all three suits (e.g., 555m, 555p, 555s).

Three consecutive numbered tiles of the same suit (e.g., 456 of bamboo). Also called shuntsu or run.

A dual pon wait - waiting on two different pairs to complete a triplet (e.g., 11223 waiting on 1 or 2). Offers 6 tiles but less flexible than ryanmen.

The number of tiles away from tenpai. 0-shanten = tenpai, 1-shanten = iishanten, etc.

Little four winds - a yakuman where you have triplets of three winds and a pair of the fourth wind.

The numbered tiles 2-8 in each suit. Not terminals or honors. Required for tanyao yaku.

The second round of a hanchan where the round wind is South. Follows the East round.

Interval-based safe tile theory. If an opponent discards a 4, then 1 and 7 become safer (suji tiles) because they can't form a ryanmen wait with 4 anymore.

Four concealed triplets - a yakuman where all four melds are concealed triplets. Must win by tsumo or with a tanki wait on ron.

Four kans - a yakuman where you have four quads. One of the rarest yakuman. In some rule sets, if a fifth kan is declared by any player, the hand ends in draw.

Single wait - waiting to complete your pair. Only 3 tiles available (since you already have one). Common in kokushi and chiitoi.

All simples - a 1-han yaku where your entire hand consists only of numbered tiles 2-8. No terminals or honors. Can be open (kuitan) or closed depending on rules.

Ready to win - your hand is one tile away from completing a winning hand. Required to declare riichi.

The 1 and 9 tiles of each suit. Together with honor tiles, they form terminals and honors (yaochuuhai).

The game pieces in mahjong. A standard riichi set has 136 tiles: 34 unique tiles (9 characters, 9 bamboo, 9 circles, 4 winds, 3 dragons) with 4 copies of each. See the complete Tile Reference page for detailed information about each tile, including cultural meanings and strategic usage.

All triplets - a 2-han yaku where all four melds are triplets (pon or kan). Also called toitoihou.

East round only - a short game format consisting of one round (4 hands minimum). Common for online quick matches.

Three identical tiles. Can be concealed (ankou) or open (minkou). Also called koutsu.

Winning by self-draw - completing your hand by drawing the winning tile yourself. All three opponents pay a portion of the total.

All honors - a yakuman where your entire hand consists only of honor tiles (winds and dragons). No numbered suits.

Reverse dora - additional dora indicators revealed only when you win after declaring riichi. Located underneath the regular dora indicators.

Your tenpai wait pattern - the specific tile(s) needed to complete your winning hand. Common patterns: ryanmen, kanchan, penchan, shanpon, tanki.

The stack of face-down tiles from which players draw. Each player builds a wall of 17 tiles, creating a square formation.

Slang for not winning a single hand during an entire game. Sometimes marked with a physical penalty marker in casual play.

Scoring patterns or hands. You must have at least one yaku to win (except with riichi). Each yaku is worth a certain number of han.

Value tiles - dragons and your seat/round wind. A triplet of yakuhai is worth 1 han. The easiest yaku to score.

Limit hand - the maximum scoring hands worth 13+ han. Pays 32,000 (non-dealer) or 48,000 (dealer) for single yakuman. Examples: kokushi, suuankou, daisangen.

Terminals and honors - the 1s, 9s, winds, and dragons. Required for certain yaku like chanta and honroutou.