List of terminology translations

Mahjong is a game that has effectively crossed the borders of both countries and languages. Given this, many languages have taken liberties in translating terms however they felt like, borrowing from other variants' translations or from other games, with mixed results.

Below is a list aiming to provide a translation of all important mahjong terminology: as such, it will be presented in a lexical order by theme. This list aims not to catalog multiple variants but to present a structured translation consistent in all languages with a sufficient player base. Also, it will not present definitions. Translations that are only indicative are preceded by ***, as the Japanese word has been fully assimilated as a normally used word among players. French and German shall indicate gender and plural as appropriate.

List of terms

Theme	Key	Japanese	Characters	English	French	German
Yaku	10101	Riichi	「立直」	Riichi — (Ready hand)	[inv.] riichi — ([la] main prête)	Riichi
Yaku	10102	Ippatsu	「一発」	Ippatsu — (One-shot)	Ippatsu — ([au] premier tour post-riichi)	{de}
Yaku	10103	Menzenchin tsumohou	「門前清自摸和」	Menzen tsumo — (All concealed)	menzen tsumo — ([la] main cachée)	{de}
Yaku	10104	Pinfu	「平和」	Pinfu — (Flat hand)	[le] pinfu — ([la] main plate)	{de}
Yaku	10105	Iipeikou	「一盃口」	Double sequence	[la] double séquence	{de}
Yaku	10111	Tanyao(chuu)	「断幺九」	Tanyao — (Simple hand)	[le] tanyao — ([la] main simple)	{de}
Yaku	10112	Yakuhai	「役牌」	Value tiles	[des] Tuiles de valeur	{de}
Yaku	10113	Rinshan kaihou	「嶺上開花」	Rinshan — (Win off the replacement tile)	[le] rinshan — ([la] victoire sur la tuile de remplacement)	{de}
Yaku	10114	Chankan	「搶槓」	Chankan — (Robbing the kan)	[le] rinshan — ([le] kan volé)	{de}
Yaku	10115	Haitei raoyue	「海底撈月」	Last pick	[la] dernière pioche	{de}
Yaku	10116	Houtei raoyui	「河底撈魚」	Last discard	[la] dernière défausse	{de}
Yaku	10201	Double riichi	「ダブルリーチ」	Double riichi	[le] double riichi	{de}
Yaku	10202	Chiitoitsu	「七対子」	Seven pairs	sept paires	{de}
Yaku	10211	Chanta	「全帯幺九」	Chanta — (Mixed terminal hand)	[le] chanta — ([la] main de terminales mixte)	{de}
Yaku	10212	Sanshoku doujun	「三色同順」	Triple sequence	[la] triple séquence	{de}
Yaku	10213	Ittsu (Ikkitsuukan)	「一気通貫」	Straight	[le] serpentin	{de}
Yaku	10221	Toitoi	「対々」	All triplets	tous brelans	{de}
Yaku	10222	Sanankou	「三暗刻」	Three concealed triplets	trois brelans cachés	{de}
Yaku	10223	Sanshoku doukou	「三色同刻」	Triple triplets	[le] triple brelan	{de}
Yaku	10224	Sankantsu	「三槓子」	Three kans	trois carrés	{de}
Yaku	10225	Shousangen	「小三元」	Little three dragons	trois petits dragons	{de}
Yaku	10226	Honroutou	「混老頭」	Pure terminal hand	tous terminales pures	{de}
Yaku	10301	Ryanpeikou	「二盃口」	Double double sequence	[la] double double séquence	{de}
Yaku	10321	Honitsu	「混一色」	Mixed flush	[la] couleur mixte	{de}
Yaku	10322	Junchan	「純全帯么」	Mixed ends hand	[la] main d'extrémités mixte	{de}
Yaku	10651	Chinitsu	「清一色」	Pure flush	[la] couleur pure	{de}
Yaku	10801	Tenhou	「天和」	Tenhou — (Miracle start (dealer))	[le] tenhou — ([le] départ miraculeux (donneur))	{de}
Yaku	10802	Chiihou	「地和」	Chiihou — (Miracle start (non-dealer))	[le] chiihou — ([le] départ miraculeux (non-donneur))	{de}
Yaku	10803	Kokushi musou	「国士無双」	Thirteen orphans	treize orphelins	{de}
Yaku	10804	Chuuren poutou	「九連宝燈」	Nine lanterns	neuf lanternes	{de}
Yaku	10805	Suuankou	「四暗刻」	Four concealed triples	quatre brelans cachés	{de}
Yaku	10881	Ryuuiisou	「緑一色」	All green	[la] main verte	{de}
Yaku	10883	Tsuuiisou	「字一色」	All word tiles	tous vents et dragons	{de}
Yaku	10884	Shousuushi	「小四喜」	Four little winds	quatre petits vents	{de}
Yaku	10885	Daisuushi	「大四喜」	Four big winds	trois grands dragons	{de}
Yaku	10886	Chinroutou	「清老頭」	All ends	tous extrémités pures	{de}
Yaku	10887	Suukantsu	「四槓子」	Four kans	quatre carrés	{de}
Yaku	10888	Daisangen	「大三元」	Big three dragons	trois grands dragons	{de}
Yaku	10901	Renhou	「人和」	Renhou — (Miracle discard)	[le] renhou — ([l'] écart miraculeux)	{de}
Yaku	10991	Nagashi mangan	「流し満貫」	{en}	[la] pile fantastique	{de}
Yaku	10992	Kazoe yakuman	「数え役満」	Counted yakuman	[le] yakuman compté	{de}
Basic A	20011	hai / pai	「牌」	Tile(s)	[la] tuile	[der] Stein(e)
Basic A	20021	yama {fig.}	「山」	Wall	[le] mur	{de}
Basic A	20022	kabe {lit.}	「壁」
Basic A	20031	ton	「幢」	Stack(s)	[le] tas*	{de}
Basic A	20041	wanpai	「王牌」	Dead wall	[la] réserve	[---] Tote Mauer
Basic A	20051	saikoro 🎲	「骰子」	Die (Dice)	[le] dé(s)	{de}
Basic A	20061	tenbou	「点棒」	Point stick	[le] bâtonnet(s) de points	{de}
Basic A	20071	haipai	「配牌」	Starting hand	[la] main(s) initiale(s)	{de}
Basic A	20081	riipai	「理牌」	Hand sorting	[le] tri de la main	{de}
Basic A	20101	ban	「番」	Turn {to play}	{fr}	{de}
Basic A	20111	tsumo (n.)	「自摸」	Draw	pioche	{de}
Basic A	20121	hiku (v.)	「引く」		piger	{de}
Basic A	20131	suteru (v.)	「捨てる」	Discard	écarter	{de}
Basic A	20132	sutehai (n.)	「捨て牌」		écart	{de}
Basic A	20141	naku (v.)	「鳴く」	Call	appeler	{de}
Basic A	20142	fuuro (n.)	「」		réquisition	{de}
Basic A	20151	chii	「」	Chii — (call for sequence)	[inv.] chii — ([l'] appel pour séquence)	{de}
Basic A	20161	pon	「」	Pon — (call for triplet)	[inv.] pon — ([l'] appel pour brelan)	{de}
Basic A	20171	kan	「槓」	Draw	{fr}	{de}
Basic A	20181	tsumo (decl.)	「自摸」	Draw	{fr}	{de}
Basic A	20191	ron (decl.)	「栄」	Draw	{fr}	{de}
Basic A	20201	agari	「和ガリ」	Draw	{fr}	{de}
Basic A	20211	furikomi	「振込」	Draw	{fr}	{de}
Basic A	20221	sashikomi	「差し込み」	Draw	{fr}	{de}
Basic A	20231	ryuukyoku	「流局」	Exhaustive draw	[une] main nulle	[---] Abbau-Unentschieden
Basic B	30011	shuntsu	「順子」	{en}	[une] séquence	{de}
Basic B	30021	koutsu	「刻子」	{en}	[un] brelan	{de}
Basic B	30031	kantsu	「槓子」	{en}	[un] carré — [un] kan	{de}
Basic B	30041	toitsu	「対子」	{en}	[une] paire	{de}
Basic B	30051	taatsu	「塔子」	{en}	[un] protogroupe	{de}
Basic B	30061	jantou	「雀頭」	{en}	[la] paire finale	[---] Schlusspaar
Basic B	30071	minjun	「明順」	{en}	[une] séquence exposée	{de}
Basic B	30081	anjun	「暗順」	{en}	[une] séquence cachée	{de}
Basic B	30091	minkou	「明刻」	{en}	[un] brelan exposé	{de}
Basic B	30101	ankou	「暗刻」	{en}	[un] brelan caché	{de}
Basic B	30111	minkan	「明槓」	{en}	[un] carré exposé	{de}
Basic B	30121	ankan	「暗槓」	{en}	[un] carré caché	{de}
Basic B	3*131	shouminkan	「jpKanji」	{en}	[un] carré appelé {brelan caché appelé en...}	{de}
Basic B	3*141	daiminkan	「jpKanji」	{en}	[un] carré complété {brelan exposé augmenté}	{de}
Basic B	3*151	kakan	「jpKanji」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
Basic B	30161	okurikan	「jpKanji」	Four identical tiles	[un] ensemble de quatres tuiles identiques	{de}
Basic B	30171	ryanmen	「両面」	Side wait {open}	attente (ouverte) à deux bords	{de}
Basic B	30181	kanchan	「」	Gutter wait {closed}	attente (fermée) entre deux	{de}
Basic B	30191	penchan	「jpKanji」	Edge wait	attente sur le bord	{de}
Basic B	30201	tanki	「単騎」	Single wait	attente unique	{de}
Basic B	30211	shanpon	「」	Two-pair wait	attente sur deux paires	{de}
Basic D	50001	ii　⚀	「１」「①」「一」	One	un	{de}
Basic D	50002	ryan ⚁	「２」「②」「二」	Two	deux	{de}
Basic D	50003	san ⚂	「３」「③」「三」	Three	trois	{de}
Basic D	50004	suu ⚃	「４」「④」「四」	Four	quatre	{de}
Basic D	50005	uu ⚄	「５」「⑤」「伍」 （五）	Five	cinq	{de}
Basic D	50006	roo ⚅	「６」「⑥」「六」	Six	six	{de}
Basic D	50007	chii	「７」「⑦」「七」	Seven	sept	{de}
Basic D	50008	paa	「８」「⑧」「八」	Eight	huit	{de}
Basic D	50009	kyuu	「９」「⑨」「九」	Nine	neuf	{de}
Basic D	50011	ton	「東」	East	[l'] est	[---] Ost
Basic D	50012	nan	「南」	South	[le] sud	[---] Süd
Basic D	50013	shaa	「西」	West	[l'] ouest	[---] West
Basic D	50014	pei	「北」	North	[le] nord	[---] Nord
Basic D	50021	haku	「白」	White	[le] blanc	{de}
Basic D	50022	hatsu	「發」	Green {fig.}	[le] vert {fig.}	{de}
Basic D	50023	chun	「中」	Red {fig.}	[le] rouge {fig.}	{de}
Basic D	50031	pin(zu)	「筒子」	***	[le] sapèque	{de}
Basic D	50032	sou(zu)	「索子」	Bamboo	[le] bambou	{de}
Basic D	50033	man(zu)	「萬子」	Digit	[le] chiffre	{de}
Basic D	50034	shoku	「色」	Suit	[la] couleur	[---] ?Farb(e)
J-101	60001	ichi	「一」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60002	ni	「二」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60003	san	「三」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60004	yon	「四」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60005	go	「伍」 （五）	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60006	roku	「六」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60007	nana	「七」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60008	hachi	「八」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60009	kyuu	「九」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60010	juu	「十」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60011	hyaku	「百」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60012	sen	「千」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60013	man	「萬」　（万）	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60020	yaku	「役」	Winning condition	[une] condition gagnante	[---] Gewinnberechtigung
J-101	60022	dora	「ドラ」	Bonus point	[un]　point boni	[---] Bonusstein
J-101	60022	han	「翻」	{en}	{fr}	[---] Siegpunkt(e)
J-101	60023	fu	「府」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	60024	ten	「点」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	65001	onegai shimasu	「お願いします」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	65011	arigatou gozaimasu	「ありがとうございます」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	69101	(1han 30fu) senten	「千点」	1,000 points	1 000 points	1 000 Punkte
J-101	69104	(1han 30fu) goumii	「ゴーミー」	500/300 points {lit.} Trash {fig.}	500 / 300 points {lit.} Déchets {fig.}	{de}
J-101	69105	(1han) nomi	「のみ」	"___" only	"___" seulement	{de}
J-101	69111	(2han 30fu) nisen{ten}	「二千点」	2,000 points	2 000 points	2 000 Punkte
J-101	69114	gottou	「ゴットー」	500/1000 points {lit.}	500 / 1 000 points {lit.}	500 / 1 000 Punkte {lit.}
J-101	69123	niiroku	「ニーロク」	2,600 points	2 600 points	2 600 Punkte
J-101	69124	shichitousan	「シチトーサン」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	69133	sannii	「サンニー」	3,200 points	3 200 points	3 200 Punkte
J-101	69142	sen nisen	「千　二千」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	69143	zanku {sankyuu}	「ザンク」	3,900 points	3 900 points	3 900 Punkte
J-101	69153	gounii	「ゴーニー」	5,200 points	5 200 points	5 200 Punkte
J-101	69154	ichisan niroku	「イチサン　ニーロク」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	69163	rokuyon	「ロクヨン」	6,400 points	6 400 points	6 400 Punkte
J-101	69164	ichiroku sannii	「イチロク　サンニー」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	69171	...	「jpKanji」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	69174	nisen zanku	「二千　ザンク」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	69181	hassen	「八千」	1,000 points	1 000 points	1 000 Punkte
J-101	69182	nisen yonsen	「二千　四千」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
J-101	69203	ichigo	「イチゴー」	1,500 points {lit.} Strawberry {fig.}	1 500 points {lit.} Fraise {fig.}	1 500 Punkte {lit.} [die] Erdbeere {fig.}
J-101	69213	niikuu	「ニークー」	2,900 points	2 900 points	2 900 Punkte
J-101	69243	goppaa	「ゴーパー」	5,800 points	5 800 points	5 800 Punkte
J-101	69263	kunroku	「クンロク」	9,600 points	9 600 points	9 600 Punkte
J-101	69273	pinpinroku	「ピンピンロク」	11,600 points	11 600 points	11 600 Punkte
J-101	69281	ichiman nisen	「一万二千」	12,000 points	12 000 points	12 000 Punkte
J-101	69303	ichiroku	「イチロク」	16,000 points	16 000 points	16 000 Punkte
J-101	69313	inpachi	「インパチ」	18,000 points	18 000 points	18 000 Punkte
J-101	60001	。	「。」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
...	70001	.	「jpKanji」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
...	80001	.	「jpKanji」	{en}	{fr}	{de}
...	90001	.	「jpKanji」	{en}	{fr}	{de}

Table notes

Japanese

English

French

German

Controversial translation by language

French

Generally, there are two main sources for French terminology: the French Federation of Mah-Jong (FFMJ), and Club Riichi de Montréal (CRM), as well as various authors hailing from the spheres of influence of the two organizations. Some terms may not reflect the words in usage in either area and there is no sustained effort to either harmonize or even officialize the terminology used. While Senechal's point of view is heavily biased towards CRM, the goal is to maintain as much similitude as possible. French has a wide gamut of precise terms to describe more things than in English. The caveats to this are when a translation was poorly done on either end, or if a non-riichi version of mahjong introduces a term conflicting with Japanese mahjong.

Pinzu: Cercle versus sapèque

Pinzu have been referred to as "cercles" by the Réunion Federation of Mah-Jong (FRMJ), a sub-group of the FFMJ, as well as in books by Stéphane Parcollet. Everyone can understand that circles are round. The problem lies in the fact that circles are monolinear abstract objects, whereas the concrete objects represented are coins used in China, with holes in them. Whereas the English term for them (cash) has not caught on, the French language has the term sapèque, which is quite precise, unambiguous, and does not raise eyebrows related to anti-gambling prejudice like cash would in English.

As cercles would cause a shorthand conflict with caractères or chiffres (see below), it also poorly serves a disambiguative purpose.

Ruling: Use sapèque, never cercle (imprecise).

Manzu: Caractère versus chiffre, nombre

The word characters is a poor choice in any language, as Asian languages use characters for everything. Mahjong tiles themselves have 15 different tiles (from the base 34 types) that have Chinese characters on them. This leads to a lot of confusion with character, number, digit and word. All tiles from 1 to 9 (108 tiles) are called suupai (number tiles), and all other tiles (28 tiles) represent winds and dragons, called jihai (word tiles). But if words on word tiles are characters, then why call anything characters?

Note: TBD in English.

Ruling: Use chiffre in French, not caractère (imprecise) nor nombre (other use).

Cross-language issues

Pinzu versus Tonzu

The cash coins represented on mahjong tiles would be accurately described as tonzu. However, many areas in China, as well as the people who helped disseminate mahjong in Japan were using the term pinzu, representing barrels as opposed to coins. In the western world, there is no clear term used: circles and dots in English, cercles and sapèques in French, etc. While standardizing to one word per language serves a purpose, forcefully aligning every language to a singular concept may not be beneficial.

Ruling: pinzu in Japanese, sapèque in French, TBD in English.

Souzu versus Bamboo

Souzu in Japanese represents what it does in Chinese: string stacks of coins, representing 100 coins per stack. It in no way means bamboo (it's not called chikuzu), but as it has garnered overwhelming traction in all languages even by people uninterested in mahjong, it would be pointless to change a term that has garnered more acceptance than the game itself.

Terminals versus Ends

There is a dispute as whether to use terminals or ends for the terms yaochuuhai and routouhai. In English and French, the logic that applies is that a terminal must be at the start, finish, or sole point in a line, whereas an end must be at the start or finish of a non-zero length line. In German, there is an expression, "Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei". It is important to consider the three suits (die Farbe) as being the sausage here.

Ruling: Yaochuuhai, even if it says "1-9-tiles" in Japanese and Chinese, means all of ones, nines, winds and dragons: it is thus translated as terminals.
Routouhai refers specifically to ones and nines exclusively: both honroutou and chinroutou require that consistency be kept among the terms (and tsuuiisou requires none), and thus, it should be translated as ends.

Notes

The index key provided is currently a work in progress. The last digit is used for overlapping terminology or ideas.

External links

}

Japanese	Kanji	Explanation
agari 和がり·agari	和がり	Winning a hand, e.g. tsumo-agari, ron-agari.
aidayonken 間四軒·aidayonken	間四軒	An interval of four between two discarded number tiles. Usually indicates dangerous waits. A discarded 1 and 6 make a 2—5 wait very probable.
akapai 赤牌·akapai	赤牌	Red tiles that count as Dora. Usually (but not always) fives.
an 暗·an	暗	Means "dark", refers to tiles that are concealed in the hand.
anpai 安牌·anpai	安牌	Safe tile.
aotenjou 青天井·aotenjou	青天井	No limits, e.g. 5-han 30-fu becomes worth 15400 points instead of being capped at Mangan (8000).
ariari アリアリ·ariari	アリアリ	Ruleset which allows kuitan and atozuke. Most common basic set of rules in Japan.
atama 頭·atama	頭	The pair in a standard mahjong hand (four groups and one pair). Also "jantou".
atamahane 頭跳ね·atamahane	頭跳ね	A rule that allows only one Ron at a time -- the closest to the discarder in turn order takes priority.
atozuke 先付け·atozuke	先付け	A rule that allows hands without yaku to ron if the winning tile would create a yaku. (antonym: sakizuke)
awaseuchi 合わせ打ち·awaseuchi	合わせ打ち	Discarding the same tile as someone else, to avoid dealing into their hand.
ba 場·ba	場	A "wind round", e.g. tonba (east round) or nanba (south round).
baiman 倍満·baiman	倍満	Hand with 8 to 10 han, worth 16000 points (24000 for the dealer).
bakaze 場風·bakaze	場風	Round wind.
barai 払い·barai	払い	A payment (also "furikomi").
bazoro 場ゾロ·bazoro	場ゾロ	The two base Han used when calculating score, given by default rather than from yaku.
betaori ベタ降り·betaori	ベタ降り	A strategy that focuses entirely on avoiding dealing into opponents' hands, with no intention of advancing one's own hand.
chiihou 地和·chiihou	地和	[Yakuman] Non-dealer wins of the first drawn tile (on an uninterruped turn).
chombo chonbo 冲合 錯和·chombo	錯和	[score -= mangan] A term to designate major penalties (invalid ron, overturning the wall, other fouls) that result in a mangan payment split to your opponents. The hand is considered null and void, riichi deposits are returned, no repeater added. (Dealer may lose the deal depending on local rules.)
chunchan 中張·chunchan	中張	The zone of tiles numbered from 2 through 8, representing tiles that can be grouped with tiles on each of its sides.
chunchanhai chunchan hai 中張牌·chunchanhai	中張牌	The tiles in the zone numbered from 2 through 8. See tanyao for related yaku. (opposite: yaochuuhai)
daburon ダブロン·daburon	ダブロン	A rule that allows two people to Ron the same tile.
daiminkan 大明槓·daiminkan	大明槓	An open kan made by calling a discarded tile.
daisuushi 大四喜·daisuushi	大四喜	[2x Yakuman] Hand composed with sets (3 or 4 tiles) of each the east, south, west and north winds. The pair can be anything legal.
damaten 黙聴·damaten	黙聴	Silent tenpai, without calling riichi.
dead wall wanpai 王牌·dead wall	王牌	The 14 tiles that are considered to be out of play. One tile in the third stack is visible as a dora indicator. If replacement tiles are taken from the first two stacks, the wall is replenished from the last tiles normally “in play”.
dealer oya 親·dealer	親	The dealer position is referred to as oya (parent), in opposition to other players designated as ko (children), The oya is entitled to a 50% bonus on wins, but pays 50% (twice the others' payments) in case of opponent self-draw.
digital デジタル·digital	デジタル	A school of thought that opposes Occult and believes that the outcome of a game can be explained by probability and statistics.
discard area pond kawa 河·discard area/pond	河	Means "river".
discard kiru cut 切る·discard	切る	Means "to cut".
dora ドラ·dora	ドラ	A tile designated to provide a bonus, as indicated by the dora indicator (dora hyoujihai). The 4 tiles designated provide a bonus han each.
dorahyouji ドラ表示·dorahyouji	ドラ表示	The tile in the dead wall indicating the dora, visibly flipped in the third stack. The actual dora flipped is the following tile in the same suit, nines designate the one as dora, winds E->S->W->N->E, dragons Red->White->Green->Red.
dragons sangenpai 三元牌·dragons	三元牌	The tile group to designate any of the three dragons.
fanpai 自風/場風·fanpai	自風/場風	[1-han yaku] A meld of the round or seat wind. Worth 2 han if round and seat wind are the same.
furikomi 振り込み·furikomi	振り込み	A payment, also "barai".
furiten 振聴·furiten	振聴	To be Tenpai and waiting on a tile that you have already discarded.
fuutei 副底·fuutei	副底	The 20 base Fu used when calculating score, given by default rather than from composition.
genbutsu 現物·genbutsu	現物	A 100% safe tile.
haipai 配牌·haipai	配牌	The distribution of tiles to all players at the beginning of a round.
haiteihai 海底牌·haiteihai	海底牌	The last drawable tile in the wall.
hanchan 半荘·hanchan	半荘	A game consisting of an East and South round. Most common in Japanese Mahjong.
haneman 跳満·haneman	跳満	Hand with 6 or 7 han, worth 12000 points (18000 for the dealer).
harabote 腹ボテ·harabote	腹ボテ	A Shanpon or Tanki wait embedded inside a Shuntsu. For example, 4556 waiting on 5.
honba 本場·honba	本場	The number of consecutive Ren Chans, usually indicated by 100-point sticks.
houjuu 放銃·houjuu	放銃	To deal into a hand.
houra 和了·houra	和了	To win a hand, e.g. Tsumo-hou, Ron-hou. Also found in a few yaku names like "Toitoi-hou".
houteihai 河底牌·houteihai	河底牌	The tile discarded by the player who just drew the Haitei-hai.
iichan 一荘·iichan	一荘	A game consisting of East, South, West, and North rounds. More common in Chinese variants.
ikasama イカサマ·ikasama	イカサマ	To cheat using sleight of hand, etc.
inchiki インチキ·inchiki	インチキ	To cheat using hacks, bug exploits, etc.
jigokumachi hell wait 地獄待ち·jigokumachi	地獄待ち	A wait in which all but one of the winning tiles are visible or claimed.
jihai 字牌·jihai	字牌	Character tiles (sangenpai + kazehai).
jikaze 自風·jikaze	自風	Seat wind.
jun 巡·jun	巡	The turn number within a round.
kakan chakan 加槓·chakan	加槓	A kan that was upgraded from a melded set, from a player's own draws or hand.
kamicha 上家·kamicha	上家	The player to your left.
kanchan 嵌張·kanchan	嵌張	A wait that completes the inside of a run, e.g. 46 waiting on 5.
kandora カンドラ·kandora	カンドラ	A rule that causes more Dora indicators to be flipped when a Kan is made.
kazehai 風牌·kazehai	風牌	Wind tiles.
kikenhai 危険牌·kikenhai	危険牌	Dangerous tile.
kiriage mangan 切り上げ満貫·kiriage mangan	切り上げ満貫	Rule setting increasing scores close to mangan to be valued as mangan (e.g. 4 han 30 fu, or 3 han 60 fu) instead of 7700 or 11600 points.
kiru 切る·kiru	切る	To discard a tile.
kuikae 喰い替え·kuikae	喰い替え	A rule that allows you to call a tile, then discard another tile that could have completed the meld. For example, to Chi 123 and discard a 4.
kuisagari 喰い下がり·kuisagari	喰い下がり	A property of some yaku that reduces the value by 1 han when the hand is open. See chanta, junchan, honitsu, chinitsu, ittsu.
kuitan 喰い断·kuitan	喰い断	A rule that allows Tanyao to be open.
kyoku 局·kyoku	局	A round that begins with the dealing of tiles and ends with the declaration of a win or draw. 4 per wind round, e.g. East 1st round, East 2nd round, etc.
machi 待ち·machi	待ち	A tenpai hand's wait, e.g. Ryanmen, Kanchan, etc.
mangan 満貫·mangan	満貫	Hand with 5 han (all), 4 han (many, with 32+ fu) or 3 han (rare, with 62+ fu), worth 8000 points (12000 for the dealer).
mawashiuchi 回し打ち·mawashiuchi	回し打ち	Attempting to both win a hand and deal only safe tiles. Pretty hard unless you have really good radar.
menzen 門前·menzen	門前	A fully closed hand (no open melds).
min 明·min	明	Means "light", refers to tiles that have been exposed by calling.
nagashi mangan 流し満貫·nagashi mangan	流し満貫	[5-han yaku] Only terminals and honours have been discarded, and none of them been called after a draw.
nashinashi ナシナシ·nashinashi	ナシナシ	Opposite of ariari mahjong, restricting both open tanyao as well as waiting to complete a yaku without already having one. (See atozuke for what's restricted)
no ten bappu noten ノーテン罰符·no ten bappu	ノーテン罰符	A payment made at the end of a round by those who are not tenpai (or choose not to reveal their hands) to those who are tenpai.
nobetan 延べ単·nobetan	延べ単	A double tanki wait, e.g.: 4567 waiting on 4 or 7.
nukidora 抜きドラ·nukidora	抜きドラ	A tile that counts as Dora when extracted from the hand, e.g. flower tiles or the North in most three-player variants (such as on Tenhou).
occult オカルト·occult	オカルト	A school of thought that opposes Digital and believes that the outcome of a game is affected by luck, flow, Mahjong demons, etc.
okkake okkakeriichi 追いかけリーチ·okkakeriichi	追いかけリーチ	Following with another riichi. To make a riichi declaration after someone else rather than defend.
okurikan 送り槓·okurikan	送り槓	Four identical tiles left undeclared in order to use the tiles for other melds instead of forming a kan, e.g. 333345 = (333) (345).
oorasu オーラス·oorasu	オーラス	The final round of a game (South 4th round in a Han Chan). Probably a contraction of English "all last".
open kui tanyaochuu (kuitan) 喰い断幺九·kui tanyaochuu (kuitan)	喰い断幺九	[1-han yaku] An open Tanyaochuu.
otakaze 客風·otakaze	客風	Guest winds, providing no bonus to the player with them. For example, if you are South seat in East round, then your guest winds are West and North.
pao sekinin 包·pao	包	A property of certain hands that causes one person to be responsible for the whole payment if they discarded the tile that made it a yakuman. Covers half of other's ron payments, all in case of tsumo. Daisangen, Daisuushi, Suukantsu -- as well as dealing a live tile claimed in a Kan enabling that player to win with Rinshan Kaihou -- are the only hands this applies to in riichi mahjong.
penchan 辺張·penchan	辺張	A wait consisting of 12 waiting on 3, or 89 waiting on 7.
renchan 連荘·renchan	連荘	A continuation of dealer position because the dealer either won or was tenpai at the end of the round.
riipai 理牌·riipai	理牌	Sorting the tiles in your hand.
rinshanpai 嶺上牌·rinshanpai	嶺上牌	The tile drawn after making a Kan.
routouhai 老頭牌·routouhai	老頭牌	The tiles numbered 1 and 9 only. (sub-group of yaochuuhai)
ryanhan shibari 二飜縛り·ryanhan shibari	二飜縛り	After 5 renchans, a 2 han minimum hand is needed for others to win against the dealer.
ryankan 両嵌·ryankan	両嵌	A non-standard group of three tiles, extending the kanchan concept of a single taatsu of 35 to a double-gutted numerical sequence such as 135 or 357. Note: this only counts as one taatsu, and is not a wait structure, as a hand cannot be tenpai with it.
ryanmen 両面·ryanmen	両面	A two-sided wait, e.g. 56 waiting on 4 or 7.
sangenpai 三元牌·sangenpai	三元牌	Haku, Hatsu, and Chun.
sashikomi 差し込み·sashikomi	差し込み	Intentionally dealing into an opponent's hand. Appropriate for paying a small hand to avoid risking paying a big one. Inappropriate for throwing a winner to someone with a monster hand.
shabo シャボ·shabo	シャボ	Abbreviation of shanpon.
shanpon 双ポン·shanpon	双ポン	A wait consisting of two pairs, one of which will be part of the final hand as a set.
shanten 向聴·shanten	向聴	Number of tiles needed to reach tenpai. A hand with two calls and 13579EE in the same suit is one away from tenpai (1-shanten) because a 2, 4, 6 or 8 could be incorporated into the hand to make it into a waiting hand (tenpai).
shibori 絞り·shibori	絞り	Holding on to tiles that an opponent would otherwise be likely to Pon or Chi.
shimocha 下家·shimocha	下家	The player to your right.
shonpai 生牌·shonpai	生牌	A "live tile", i.e. has not yet been discarded this round.
shuupai 数牌·shuupai	数牌	Number tiles. Also "suupai".
suit shoku color colour 色·suit	色	Suffix used to represent the use of specific tile suits, pin, sou, man. Means "colour".
suji 筋·suji	筋	The tiles that complete Ryanmen waits. The basis for many discard reading theories. Means "muscle".
suupai 数牌·suupai	数牌	Number tiles. Also "shuupai".
tanki 単騎·tanki	単騎	A wait on a single tile to complete the pair (jantou).
tanyaohai 断幺牌·tanyaohai	断幺牌	The tiles numbered 2 through 8. Also "chun chan hai".
tenbou 点棒·tenbou	点棒	Point sticks.
tenpai 聴牌·tenpai	聴牌	A hand that needs only one tile to win.
toimen 対面·toimen	対面	The player sitting directly across from you.
tonpuusen 東風戦·tonpuusen	東風戦	A game consisting of an East only round.
tsumo 自摸·tsumo	自摸	A self-drawn tile. Usually announced when winning a hand, but can refer to any drawn tile.
tsumokiri ツモ切り·tsumokiri	ツモ切り	Discarding the tile that was just drawn.
uradora 裏ドラ·uradora	裏ドラ	Additional dora which can be earned by winning with Riichi.
wanpai 王牌·wanpai	王牌	The "dead" section of wall that can't be used except for Dora indicators and Kan draws.
wareme 割れ目·wareme	割れ目	A rule that doubles any payment involving the player whose wall was broken at the start of the round.
winds kazehai 風牌·winds	風牌	Means "wind tiles".
yakitori 焼き鳥·yakitori	焼き鳥	A rule that requires players to win at least one hand or pay a penalty.
yaku yakuman 役満·yakuman	役満	Hand with a special yaku or 13 or more han, payout 48000/36000.
yaku 役·yaku	役	A scoring pattern in the hand that awards Han, such as Tanyao or Toitoi.
yaochuuhai 幺九牌·yaochuuhai	幺九牌	The tiles numbered 1 and 9 (routouhai) plus characters (jihai).
zentsuppa 全ツッパ·zentsuppa	全ツッパ	A (generally losing) strategy that attempts to win a hand at all costs while ignoring the possibility of dealing into an opponent's hand.
karagiri 空切り·karagiri	片切り	Discarding a copy of the tile that was just drawn. A disguised tsumokiri.
tenpane tempane 点パネ·tenpane	点パネ	Scoring 12 or more fu points, excluding fuutei (20) and menzen kafu (10), causing the score to reach the 40 point level, or 50 for menzen ron. (syn.: fuhane)
fuhane 符跳ね·fuhane	符跳ね	Scoring 12 or more fu points, excluding fuutei (20) and menzen kafu (10), causing the score to reach the 40 point level, or 50 for menzen ron. (syn.: tenpane)
paifu record 牌譜·paifu	牌譜	Game record, log or other device used to record the progress of hands or games of mahjong.
chiicha chicha first 起家·chiicha	起家	Starting dealer, first East, Sometimes associated with the “chiicha marker” for a later reminder where to stop the game or change winds.
suufonrenda suufon renda 四風連打·suufon renda	四風連打	A drawn hand provoked by an initial discard of 4 winds, each the same wind from all 4 players. (Theoretical chances of it occuring: 1 in 104 hands)