Reference
American mahjong glossary
The words you'll hear at the table, explained in plain English. Bookmark this page for your first few games.
- Bam
- One of the three suits, short for bamboo. Numbered 1 to 9. The 1 Bam usually shows a bird. Its matching dragon is Green.
- Blind pass
- Passing on some or all of the tiles coming to you without looking at them. Allowed only on the first left and the second right of the Charleston. Also called stealing.
- Breaking the wall
- Opening the wall at the spot chosen by East's dice roll, so the deal can begin.
- Call
- To claim another player's discard, either to complete a group of three or more that you then expose, or to win. You say "Call" (or "Mahjong").
- Card
- The yearly list of allowed winning hands, published by the National Mah Jongg League. Every player needs the current one. See how to read the card.
- Charleston
- The tile exchange before play begins: right, across, left, then optionally left, across, right, then an optional courtesy pass. Practise on the Daily Charleston.
- Concealed hand (C)
- A hand marked C on the card. You can't call discards for it, except the last tile that gives you mahjong.
- Consecutive run
- A section of the card with hands built from numbers in a row, such as 4, 5, 6. You can't call a discard to complete a run; only groups of identical tiles.
- Courtesy pass
- The optional final pass of the Charleston, between players sitting across from each other. Each asks for 0 to 3 tiles, and both pass the lower number. No blind passing and no jokers.
- Crak
- One of the three suits, short for character. Numbered 1 to 9. Its matching dragon is Red.
- Dead hand
- A hand that can no longer win, for example because its exposures fit no hand on the card. The player stops drawing and discarding but still pays the winner.
- Dead joker
- A joker that has been discarded. No one can call it.
- Deal
- Handing out the tiles at the start of each hand. East ends up with 14 tiles and everyone else with 13.
- Discard
- The tile you put face up in the middle of the table at the end of your turn, naming it out loud. Also the pile of discarded tiles.
- Dot
- One of the three suits, also called circles. Numbered 1 to 9. Its matching dragon is White (Soap).
- Dragon
- Honour tiles in three kinds: Red, Green and White (Soap), four of each. Each dragon pairs with a suit.
- East
- One of the four Winds, and also the dealer's seat. East rolls the dice, starts with 14 tiles and discards first. The deal moves to the right after each hand.
- Exposure
- A group of tiles placed face up on top of your rack after calling a discard. Once exposed, tiles can't go back into your hand.
- Exposed hand (X)
- A hand marked X on the card. You may call discards to complete its groups.
- Flower
- Eight tiles, all treated the same in American mahjong even when the pictures differ. Many hands on the card use them.
- Green Dragon
- The dragon that goes with Bams.
- Hand
- Your tiles, or one of the winning combinations printed on the card. Also one round of play, from the deal to mahjong or a wall game.
- Honour tiles
- Winds and Dragons, which have no numbers.
- Hot tile
- Informal term for a tile that seems likely to give another player mahjong, usually judged from their exposures.
- Joker
- Eight wild tiles. A joker can stand in for any tile in a group of three or more, never as a single or in a pair. Test yourself on the joker quiz.
- Joker exchange
- On your turn, swapping a real tile for a joker in an exposed group (yours or another player's) when your tile matches the group. Also called redeeming a joker.
- Jokerless
- A winning hand with no jokers. Payments are doubled, except for Singles and Pairs hands. See scoring and payouts.
- Kong
- Four identical tiles.
- Like numbers
- A section of the card with hands that use the same number in different suits.
- Mahj
- Short, friendly name for the game.
- Mahjong
- The game itself, and what you call out when your 14 tiles match a hand on the card.
- Mahjong in error
- Calling mahjong when your hand doesn't actually match. Depending on what's been exposed, the hand may be ruled dead.
- NMJL
- The National Mah Jongg League, which publishes the card each year.
- Pair
- Two identical tiles. Jokers can't be used in a pair.
- Pass
- One exchange of tiles in the Charleston. Regular passes are always three tiles.
- Pung
- Three identical tiles.
- Pusher
- An arm attached to a rack, used to push your section of the wall toward the centre.
- Quint
- Five identical tiles. Since there are only four of each tile (except flowers), a quint needs at least one joker unless it's made of flowers.
- Rack
- The stand that holds your tiles upright and hidden. Exposures sit on top of it.
- Racking
- Putting a tile you've drawn onto your rack.
- Red Dragon
- The dragon that goes with Craks.
- Self-pick
- Winning with a tile you drew from the wall yourself. All three other players pay double.
- Sextet
- Six identical tiles. Needs jokers unless made of flowers.
- Single
- One tile on its own within a hand. Jokers can't be used as singles.
- Singles and Pairs
- A section of the card with hands made only of single tiles and pairs, so no jokers can be used. These hands don't get the jokerless double.
- Soap
- The White Dragon. It goes with Dots, and stands for zero in hands that spell a year.
- Suit
- Bams, Craks or Dots. Colours on the card show which groups must share a suit.
- Tile
- Each of the 152 playing pieces. See them all on the tile guide.
- Turn
- Drawing a tile from the wall (or calling a discard), then discarding one. Play moves to the right.
- Wall
- The face-down tiles built in front of each rack, 19 tiles long and two high, pushed together into a square.
- Wall game
- A hand where the wall runs out and no one wins. No one pays.
- White Dragon
- See Soap.
- Winds
- North, East, West and South, four of each.
- X and C
- Marks at the end of each line on the card. X means exposed (you can call discards). C means concealed.
- Year hand
- A hand built from the digits of the current year, with Soap standing for zero.
Questions
Why is the White Dragon called Soap?
It's the common nickname in American mahjong, and you'll hear it far more often than "White Dragon" at the table. Both names mean the same tile.
What's the difference between a pung and a kong?
A pung is three identical tiles. A kong is four. Both can include jokers.
Are "dead hand" and "wall game" the same thing?
No. A dead hand affects one player, who can no longer win but still pays. A wall game is when the whole hand ends with no winner and no one pays.
Where can I learn the rules behind these terms?
Start with how to play, and keep the cheat sheet beside you. For table manners, see mahjong etiquette.