Mahjong glossary

The tiles in one picture

B

Bam

One of the three suits, short for bamboo. The tiles show bamboo sticks, and the 1 Bam is usually a bird. Green Dragons go with Bams.

Blind pass

On the last pass of each Charleston round, passing on some or all of the tiles just passed to you, without looking at them. See the Charleston.

Break the wall

East rolls two dice and splits their own wall at that count. The deal starts at the split.

C

Call

Taking the tile just discarded. You can call to finish a pung, kong or quint, or for mahjong. Say "Call" before the next player puts their new tile on their rack. See calling tiles.

Card

The list of winning hands, with a value for each. Groups usually buy a new official card each year. This site uses its own House Card.

Charleston

The tile exchange before play: 3 tiles at a time, right, across, then left, with an optional second round and a courtesy pass.

Concealed hand

A hand marked C on the card. You can't call discards to make sets for it, only your last tile for mahjong.

Consecutive run

A section of the card with sets of numbers in a row, such as a kong of 1s, 2s and 3s. These are matching sets, not runs.

Courtesy pass

The optional last pass of the Charleston: 0 to 3 tiles with the player across. If you disagree on the number, the smaller one is used.

Crak

One of the three suits, short for character. Read the number in the corner. Red Dragons go with Craks.

D

Dead hand

A hand that can no longer win, for example after a wrong exposure or with the wrong number of tiles. The player stops playing until the hand ends, and still pays the winner.

Discard

The tile you throw out at the end of your turn, face up in the center. Always say its name out loud.

Dot

One of the three suits, shown as circles. Soap goes with Dots.

Dragon

Three kinds of tile, four of each: Red (goes with Craks), Green (goes with Bams) and Soap (goes with Dots). Written D on the card.

E

East

The dealer. East rolls the dice, starts with 14 tiles and begins play by discarding. After each hand, the player on East's right becomes East.

Exposed hand

A hand you may call discards for and show sets face up. Often marked X on a card.

Exposure

A set laid face up on your rack after calling a discard. It stays there for the rest of the hand.

F

Flower

Eight tiles that all count as the same tile, whatever the picture. Written F on the card.

H

Hot tile

A tile that could give another player mahjong. Late in the game, players try not to discard one.

House rules

Rules a group agrees on for itself, such as whether to play the second Charleston or how to keep score.

J

Joker

Eight tiles that can stand in for any tile in a set of 3 or more. Never in a pair or as a single tile. A discarded joker can't be called. See mahjong jokers.

Joker swap

On your turn, putting the real tile into an exposed set that holds a joker, and taking the joker. Also called a joker exchange or redeeming a joker.

Jokerless

A winning hand with no jokers. Every payment doubles, except for hands made only of singles and pairs.

K

Kong

Four of the same tile. Jokers can be used.

L

Like numbers

A section of the card where every group uses the same number, usually across different suits.

M

Mahjong

The game, and also what you say when your 14 tiles match a hand on the card. Saying it is called declaring mahjong.

P

Pair

Two of the same tile. Jokers can't be used.

Pung

Three of the same tile. Jokers can be used.

Pusher

An arm attached to a rack that slides the wall toward the center of the table.

Q

Quint

Five of the same tile. Since there are only four of each tile, a quint needs at least one joker, unless it is made of flowers.

R

Rack

The stand that holds your tiles upright facing you. Exposed sets go on its top ledge.

S

Self-drawn

Winning with a tile you drew from the wall, rather than a discard. Everyone pays double.

Sextet

Six of the same tile. Like a quint, it needs jokers unless it is made of flowers. Some cards use sextets. Our House Card doesn't.

Single

One tile on its own in a hand, such as each tile in 2026 or NEWS. Jokers can't be used.

Singles and pairs

A section of the card with hands made only of singles and pairs. They can't use jokers, so they are usually worth more.

Soap

The white dragon. It goes with Dots, and stands for 0 in year hands like 2026.

Suit

Dots, Bams or Craks, each numbered 1 to 9. On the card, each color stands for a suit.

W

Wall

The tiles stacked face down before play: each player builds 19 stacks, 2 tiles high. Players draw from it.

Wall game

A hand where the wall runs out and no one wins. No one pays, and the deal moves on.

Wind

Four kinds of tile, four of each: North, East, West and South. Written N, E, W and S on the card.

Y

Year hand

A hand that spells out the year, like 2026, with Soap as the 0.