Every word, two languages.
Tiles, calls, and the terms you'll hear at the table — in English and Chinese.
Dots
筒 · tǒngTilesOne of the three suits, ranked 1–9. Identified by circles on the face.
Bamboo
索 · suǒTilesOne of the three suits. Vertical sticks for 2–9; the 1 is a stylized sparrow.
Character
萬 · wànTilesOne of the three suits. Numeral on top, the character 萬 ("ten thousand") on the bottom.
East wind
東 · dōngTilesThe dealer's wind, and the first round's wind. East starts every hand.
South wind
南 · nánTilesSeat to the right of East at a Chinese-style table. The second round's wind.
West wind
西 · xīTilesSeat opposite East. The third round's wind.
North wind
北 · běiTilesSeat to the left of East. The fourth round's wind.
Red dragon
中 · zhōngTilesOne of three dragon tiles. A pung of red dragon scores 1 faan.
Green dragon
發 · fāTilesOne of three dragon tiles. A pung of green dragon scores 1 faan.
White dragon
白板 · bái bǎnTilesOne of three dragon tiles. A blank face with a thin border.
- C
Pung
碰 · pèngCallsA set of three identical tiles. Can be claimed from any player's discard.
- C
Chow
上 · shàngCallsA set of three consecutive tiles in the same suit. Can only be claimed from the player on your right.
- C
Kong
槓 · gàngCallsA set of all four copies of a tile. Triggers a replacement draw.
- S
Faan
番 · fānScoringPattern points. A winning hand's faan total determines its payout.
- T
Self-draw
自摸 · zì mōTermsWinning by drawing your last needed tile yourself, rather than claiming it from a discard.
- T
Wall
牌牆 · pái qiángTermsThe four lines of stacked face-down tiles built before the deal — 18 long, 2 high, on each side.
- T
Discard
打牌 · dǎ páiTermsA tile thrown face-up into the center of the table at the end of a player's turn.
Flower
花 · huāTilesA bonus tile. Set aside immediately when drawn; replaced from the back of the wall.
Season
季 · jìTilesA bonus tile. Like flowers, set aside and replaced when drawn.
- S
Common hand
平糊 · píng húScoringA hand made entirely of chows with a non-honor pair. Worth 1 faan.
- S
All pungs
對對糊 · duì duì húScoringA hand made of four pungs (or kongs) and a pair. Worth 3 faan.
- S
Pure one-suit
清一色 · qīng yī sèScoringA hand made entirely from a single suit, no honors. Worth 7 faan.
- S
Mixed one-suit
混一色 · hùn yī sèScoringA hand made from a single suit plus honor tiles. Worth 3 faan.