Mahjong Terms

TERMS OF THE GAME

Baiman: [倍満]	2 times Mangan. Score received with a hand worth 8-10 fans.
Bamboo Tile: [索子]	Numbered tiles 1-9 with the bamboo design. The 1-bamboo tile has a picture of a bird. Numbers represented by number of bamboo sticks on each tile.
Character Tile: [萬子]	Numbered tiles 1-9 in Japanese lettering. 1 [一], 2 [二], 3 [三], 4 [四], 5 [五], 6 [六], 7 [七], 8 [八], 9 [九]
Chi: [チー]	What is announced when making a Juntsu using an opponent's discarded tile.
Concealed Set:	A set that is not shown to the opponent until mahjong.
Concealed Hand: [門前]	A hand that is not shown to the opponent until mahjong.
Dead Pile:	Tiles not in play for the round. The Dora Indicator lays in this pile as well as the loose tiles that can be drawn if a Kong is declared.
Dealer:	The player that starts the round.
Discard:	The act of a player removing a tile from his or her own hand.
Discard Pile:	A pile where discarded tiles are place. The player and the opponent each have separate discard piles.
Discard Tile: [打牌]	A tile that a player removes from his or her hand.
Dora: [ドラ]	A random tile or tiles, which changes each round, that can increase a player's score if it is contained within a player's hand. The Dora is the tile following the Dora Indicator. Check the Scoring section for more information.
Dora Indicator:	A tile or tiles that lay face up in the dead pile. The Dora is the tile following the Dora Indicator. Check the Scoring section for more information.
Dot Tile: [筒子]	Numbered tiles 1-9 with the dot design. Numbers represented by number of dots on each tile.
Dragon Tile: [三元牌]	Tiles that represent dragons. There are three different dragon tiles: White [白], Green [発], and Red [中].
Draw: [流局]	A tie. Neither player nor opponent wins the round. However points may be rewarded or deduced depending on the incomplete hand that each player has. Drawing is also the act of picking up a new tile for a player's hand as well.
Fan: [翻]	Used in scoring as a doubler. A player can receive Fans for having Doras and Yakus within his or her winning hand.
Furiten: [フリテン]	A tile that a player cannot declare Ron with if that tile was previously discarded by him or her. If one of his or her tile possibilities to go out with is a Furiten, then the rest of the tiles that a player can go out with are considered Furitens as well.
Go Out:	To mahjong or win the round with a drawn tile or an opponent's latest discard.
Haitei: [海底]	Name given to the very last tile drawn in a round.
Hand:	A player's set of tiles.
Haneman: [跳満] or [ハネ満]	1.5 times Mangan. Score received with a hand worth 6-7 fans.
Honors: [字牌]	Wind and Dragon Tiles.
Juntsu: [ジュンツ]	A set of 3 sequential tiles of the same suit. Will refer to it as Chi.
Kantsu: [カンツ]	A set of 4 identical tiles. Will refer to it as Kong.
Kong: [カン]	What is announced when making a Kantsu using an opponent's discarded tile.
Koutsu: [コウツ]	A set of 3 identical tiles. Will refer to it as Pon.
Kuitan: [クイタン] or [食い断の有無]	A rule that allows a Tanyao, All Simples, hand to be made with revealed sets.
Loose Tile:	A tile drawn from the dead pile after a Kong is declared.
Mahjong: [麻雀]	The name of the game of course. Also, the name given for a complete hand. A player declares it once he or she obtains a complete hand in order to win the round.
Mangan: [満貫]	Initial Scoring Limit.
Match:	A series of rounds to defeat one opponent and move to the next.
Nine Gates: [九連宝燈]	A special hand. See the Yaku section for more information.
No-Ten: [ノーテン]	What is called when a player does not have Tenpai at the end of the round.
Number Tile: [数牌]	Tiles that represent numbers. There are three types: Characters, Bamboos, and Dots.
One-Chance:	Having only one tile possibility to choose from to go out.
Pair: [雀頭]	A group of 2 identical tiles.
Pon: [ポン]	What is announced when making a Koutsu using an opponent's discarded tile.
Prevailing Wind: [場風]	The wind for the round.
Reach: [リーチ]	A declaration that can be made after drawing a new tile. The hand must be entirely concealed and need only one more tile to go out once a tile is discarded.
Revealed Set:	A set that is shown to the opponent. Revealed sets can only be made using an opponent's discard.
Ron: [ロン]	What is called when a player goes out using an opponent's discarded tile.
Sanbaiman: [三倍満]	3 times Mangan. Score received with a hand worth 11-12 fans.
Set:	A group of tiles. There are three types: Koutsu, Juntsu, and Kantsu. For simplicity, each will be referred to as Pon, Chi, and Kong respectively.
Simples: [中張]	Number tiles that lays between 2 and 8.
Tenpai: [テンパイ]	What is called when the round ends and a player only needs one more tile to make a complete hand. It is also the name for a hand that is a tile short in which the addition of another tile will make it into a complete hand.
Terminal Chi:	A Chi that contains a 1 or 9.
Terminals: [老頭]	Number tiles 1 and 9.
Thirteen Orphans: [国士無双]	A special hand. See the Other Hands section for more information.
Tiles: [牌]	Playing pieces. There are 34 different tiles plus 4 sets of each making 136 total tiles.
Tsumo: [ツモ]	What is called when a player goes out with a drawn tile.
Tsumo Pinfu: [ツモ平和]	A rule that allows a Pinfu, All Chi, hand to be made only by Tsumo and not by Ron.
Wind Tile: [四喜牌]	Tiles that represent Winds. There are four different Wind tiles: East [東], South [南], West [西], and North [北].
Yaku: [役]	What is needed in order to go out. Each Yaku is equivalent to 1 Fan.
Yakuman: [役満]	Scoring title obtain when a player's score is worth 13 or more Fans.