Riichi Mahjong Glossary
A clean, illustrated dictionary of riichi mahjong terms for international players.
This glossary is a work in progress. New entries and diagrams will be added over time.
Filtering by card titles only.
Basic Actions
Core moves
Riichi 立直
Declare a ready closed hand, place a sideways discard, and pay 1,000 points to lock your tiles.
Ron 栄和
Coming soon.
Tsumo 自摸
Coming soon.
Chii チー
Coming soon.
Pon ポン
Coming soon.
Kan カン
Coming soon.
Furiten 振聴
Coming soon.
Tenpai 聴牌
Coming soon.
Noten ノーテン
Coming soon.
Tile Types
Tiles & suits
Manzu 萬子
Coming soon.
Pinzu 筒子
Coming soon.
Souzu 索子
Coming soon.
Honor Tiles
Coming soon.
Wind Tiles
Coming soon.
Dragon Tiles
Coming soon.
Dora Indicator
Coming soon.
Red Dora (Aka Dora)
Coming soon.
Hand Structure & Efficiency
Shape & blocks
Mentsu 面子
Coming soon.
Taatsu ターツ
Coming soon.
Ryanmen
Coming soon.
Kanchan
Coming soon.
Penchan
Coming soon.
Shanten Count
Coming soon.
Ukeire
Coming soon.
Head / Pair
Coming soon.
Yaku
Winning hand patterns
1 Han Yaku
Riichi / Riichi
A declaration made when a player reaches closed tenpai, enabling special scoring bonuses such as ippatsu and ura-dora.
Unbroken / Ippatsu
A bonus awarded when a Riichi hand wins within one uninterrupted turn cycle without any calls.
Fully Concealed Hand / Menzen Tsumo
A closed-hand self-draw win and one of the most fundamental scoring elements in riichi mahjong.
Pinfu / Pinfu
A fu-less hand consisting entirely of sequences and a non-value pair, completed with a two-sided wait.
Twin Sequences / Iipeikō
Two identical sequences in the same suit, forming a basic closed-hand bonus.
All Inside / Tanyao
A hand made only of tiles numbered 2–8, excluding terminals and honor tiles.
Value Honour / Yakuhai
A triplet or quad of dragons, seat wind, or round wind, creating simple but efficient scoring.
Robbing a Quad / Chankan
Winning on the tile an opponent uses to promote a pon into a kan; a rare interrupt-style win.
After a Quad / Rinshan Kaihō
Winning on the replacement tile drawn after declaring a kan, symbolizing fortunate timing.
Last Tile Draw / Haitei
A tsumo win on the final live-wall tile of the hand.
Last Tile Claim / Hōtei
A ron win on the final discard of the hand.
2 Han Yaku
Double Riichi / Daburu Riichi
A stronger Riichi declared on your first turn, before any calls occur, with increased bonus potential.
Seven Pairs / Chiitoitsu
A special closed-hand shape made of seven distinct pairs (no four-of-a-kind counting as two pairs).
Full Straight / Ikkitsūkan (Ittsū)
Three sequences 1–2–3, 4–5–6, and 7–8–9 in the same suit, forming a complete straight.
Mixed Sequences / Sanshoku Dōjun
The same sequence appearing in all three suits (e.g., 4–5–6 in man, pin, and sou).
Mixed Triplets / Sanshoku Dōkō
The same triplet (or quad) number formed in all three suits (e.g., 7-7-7 in man, pin, and sou).
All Triplets / Toitoi
A hand made entirely of triplets/quads plus a pair, emphasizing set-based composition.
Three Concealed Triplets / San’ankō
A hand with three triplets completed without calling (concealed), rewarding hidden structure.
Three Quads / Sankantsu
A hand that includes three declared quads in total (concealed or open), a rare power pattern.
Common Ends / Chanta
Every set contains at least one terminal or honor tile, and the hand includes both types overall.
Common Terminals / Honrōtō
A hand made only of terminals and honors, arranged as triplets/quads plus a pair.
3 Han Yaku
Little Dragons / Shōsangen
Two dragon triplets plus a pair of the remaining dragon, forming a powerful honor-based hand.
Double Twin Sequences / Ryanpeikō
Two sets of identical sequences in the same suit, achievable only in a fully concealed hand.
Common Flush / Hon’itsu
A hand using tiles from one suit plus honor tiles, balancing flexibility and scoring value.
Perfect Ends / Junchan
All sets contain terminal tiles only, excluding honors, resulting in a high-risk, high-reward hand.
5 Han Yaku
Blessing of Man / Renhō
A closed-hand win by ron before the player’s first draw.
Renhō is always scored as mangan and does not combine with other yaku or dora.
6 Han Yaku
Perfect Flush / Chin’itsu
A hand composed entirely of tiles from a single suit, requiring careful tile control.
Yakuman
Blessing of Heaven / Tenhō
A dealer’s instant win with the initial hand, before any discards are made.
Blessing of Earth / Chihō
A non-dealer win achieved before the player’s first discard, without any calls.
Thirteen Orphans / Kokushi Musō
A unique hand composed of all terminals and honors, plus one duplicate to form a pair.
Nine Gates / Chūren Pōtō
An extremely rare hand using one suit in a specific 1112345678999 structure.
All Green / Ryūiisō
A hand made entirely of green tiles, creating a visually distinctive yakuman.
Four Concealed Triplets / Sūankō
Four concealed triplets completed without calling, representing overwhelming hidden strength.
Four Quads / Sūkantsu
A hand containing four quads, an extremely rare and explosive outcome.
Perfect Terminals / Chinrōtō
A hand composed solely of terminal triplets and a terminal pair, excluding honors.
All Honours / Tsūiisō
A hand made entirely of honor tiles, emphasizing rigid structure and rarity.
Big Dragons / Daisangen
Triplets of all three dragon tiles, forming one of the most iconic yakuman hands.
Little Winds / Shōsūshii
Three wind triplets and a pair of the fourth wind, representing dominant seat control.
Big Winds / Daisūshii
Triplets of all four winds, the ultimate wind-based yakuman.
Scoring
Points & limits
Han
Coming soon.
Fu
Coming soon.
Mangan / Haneman / Baiman
Coming soon.
Yakuman
Coming soon.
Dealer / Non-dealer
Coming soon.
Table Flow
Rounds & rotation
Oya (Dealer)
Coming soon.
Child (Non-dealer)
Coming soon.
Round Wind / Seat Wind
Coming soon.
Renchan
Coming soon.
Ryuukyoku
Coming soon.
Chombo
Coming soon.
Strategy Terms
Reading & decision
Suji
Coming soon.
Kabe
Coming soon.
Damaten
Coming soon.
Atozuke
Coming soon.
Push or Fold
Coming soon.
Dangerous Tiles
Coming soon.