A
- Agari 和了
- Winning a hand, by tsumo or by ron. You then call out “tsumo” or “ron”, never “agari”. How a game goes →
- Aka-dora 赤ドラ
- A red five. Each one is worth a dora: one more han if the hand wins. Sets usually have three, one per suit. The tiles →
- Ankou 暗刻
- A concealed triplet, made without a call. It is worth twice as many fu as an open triplet. Scoring basics →
- Atama 雀頭
- The pair of a hand (also called jantou). A standard hand has four sets and a pair. How a game goes →
B
- Baiman 倍満
- The 8 to 10 han limit: 16,000 points for a non-dealer, 24,000 for the dealer. Scoring basics →
- Bakaze 場風
- The round wind: East during the first round, South during the second. A triplet of this wind is a yaku. How a game goes →
C
- Chii チー
- The call that takes the discard of the player on your left to complete a run. The run is laid face up and the hand becomes open. How a game goes →
- Chiitoitsu 七対子
- Seven different pairs: the only winning hand, along with thirteen orphans, that doesn’t follow the four sets and a pair shape. It is always worth 25 fu. Scoring basics →
D
- Damaten 黙聴
- Being tenpai without declaring riichi. The hand stays flexible and discreet, but it needs another yaku to win. How a game goes →
- Dora ドラ
- A bonus tile, shown by the indicator turned over on the dead wall. Each dora in the winning hand adds one han, but it is not a yaku. The tiles →
- Dora hyoujihai ドラ表示牌
- The dora indicator: the tile turned over on the dead wall. The dora is the next tile in its suit’s order. The tiles →
F
- Fu 符
- The “minipoints” that fine-tune a hand’s value: 20 to start, then whatever the triplets, the pair, the wait and the way of winning bring. Round up to the next ten. Scoring basics →
- Furiten 振聴
- Being furiten means having one of your winning tiles in your own discards. You can then no longer win by ron, only by tsumo. How a game goes →
G
- Genbutsu 現物
- A tile an opponent has already discarded: it cannot win them the hand (furiten). It is the safest discard against a riichi. How a game goes →
H
- Haipai 配牌
- The starting hand: the 13 tiles dealt to each player (14 for the dealer). How a game goes →
- Han 翻
- The unit of a hand’s value. Each yaku and each dora bring han; together with fu, they give the points. Scoring basics →
- Hanchan 半荘
- The standard game: an East round then a South round, at least eight hands. How a game goes →
- Haneman 跳満
- The 6 or 7 han limit: 12,000 points for a non-dealer, 18,000 for the dealer. Scoring basics →
- Honba 本場
- The repeat counter, placed by the dealer. Each honba adds 300 points to the next hand’s winnings. How a game goes →
I
- Ippatsu 一発
- A one-han yaku: winning within one turn of your riichi declaration, before any call. Scoring basics →
J
- Jihai 字牌
- The honours: the four winds and the three dragons. They don’t form runs, only pairs, triplets and quads. The tiles →
- Jikaze 自風
- The seat wind: East for the dealer, then South, West and North in turn order. A triplet of your own wind is a yaku. How a game goes →
K
- Kamicha 上家
- The player on your left, who plays just before you. They are the only one whose discard you can call for a chii. How a game goes →
- Kan 槓
- A quad: four identical tiles. You then draw a replacement tile and a new dora indicator is turned over. How a game goes →
- Kanchan 嵌張
- The wait on the middle tile of a run, like 4-6 waiting on the 5. It is worth 2 fu. Scoring basics →
- Kiriage mangan 切り上げ満貫
- An optional rule that rounds up hands of 4 han 30 fu and 3 han 60 fu, which pay almost as much, to a mangan. Scoring basics →
- Kokushi musou 国士無双
- Thirteen orphans: one of each terminal and each honour, plus a pair of one of them. A yakuman.
- Koutsu 刻子
- A triplet: three identical tiles. Open if it was called (pon), concealed otherwise. How a game goes →
- Kuisagari 食い下がり
- The loss of one han by some yaku when the hand is open: honitsu, chinitsu, sanshoku, ittsu, chanta and junchan. Scoring basics →
- Kuitan 喰い断
- The rule that allows tanyao (all simples) in an open hand. It is used almost everywhere. Scoring basics →
M
- Machi 待ち
- The wait: the tile or tiles that complete a tenpai hand. Ryanmen, kanchan, penchan, shanpon and tanki are its shapes. Scoring basics →
- Mangan 満貫
- The first limit, from 5 han (or 4 han 40 fu, 3 han 70 fu): 8,000 points for a non-dealer, 12,000 for the dealer. Scoring basics →
- Mentsu 面子
- A set of three or four tiles: run, triplet or quad. You need four of them to win. How a game goes →
- Menzen 門前
- A closed hand, with no calls at all (a concealed kan is allowed). Riichi, pinfu and menzen tsumo require it. How a game goes →
N
- Noten 不聴
- Not being tenpai. When the wall runs out, noten players pay 3,000 points in total to tenpai players (noten bappu). How a game goes →
O
- Oya 親
- The dealer, sitting at East. They win and pay one and a half times as much as the others, and keep the deal if they win. The other players are the ko. How a game goes →
P
- Penchan 辺張
- The wait at the edge of a suit: 1-2 waiting on the 3, or 8-9 waiting on the 7. It is worth 2 fu. Scoring basics →
- Pinfu 平和
- A one-han yaku: a closed hand of four runs, a valueless pair and a ryanmen wait. The hand only counts the base fu: 20 on tsumo, 30 on ron. Scoring basics →
- Pon ポン
- The call that takes anyone’s discard to complete a triplet. It takes priority over a chii. How a game goes →
R
- Renchan 連荘
- The dealer keeps the deal: they won, or they were tenpai when the wall ran out. A honba is added. How a game goes →
- Riichi 立直
- Declaring a closed tenpai hand: you bet 1,000 points and no longer change your hand. It is a yaku, which unlocks ippatsu and ura-dora. How a game goes →
- Riichi-bou リー棒
- The 1,000-point stick placed on the table to declare riichi. The next winner collects it. How a game goes →
- Rinshan 嶺上
- The replacement tile drawn from the dead wall after a kan. Winning with it is a yaku (rinshan kaihou). How a game goes →
- Ron ロン
- Winning on an opponent’s discard. The player who discarded it pays for the whole hand. How a game goes →
- Ryanmen 両面
- The wait on both sides of a run, like 4-5 waiting on the 3 or the 6. The best wait, worth no fu. Scoring basics →
- Ryuukyoku 流局
- A drawn hand, most often because the wall runs out with no winner. Noten players pay tenpai players. How a game goes →
S
- Sanbaiman 三倍満
- The 11 or 12 han limit: 24,000 points for a non-dealer, 36,000 for the dealer. Scoring basics →
- Shanpon 双碰
- The wait on two pairs: one will become a triplet, the other will stay the pair. Scoring basics →
- Shanten 向聴
- The number of tiles missing to be tenpai. A hand at one shanten is one useful tile away from tenpai. How a game goes →
- Shimocha 下家
- The player on your right, who plays just after you. Your discard can give them a chii. How a game goes →
- Shuntsu 順子
- A run: three consecutive tiles in the same suit, like 3-4-5 of circles. Honours can’t form one. How a game goes →
- Suji 筋
- A defence technique: if a player has discarded the 4, they can’t win on the 1 or the 7 with a ryanmen wait.
T
- Tanki 単騎
- The wait on the pair: only the second tile of the pair is missing. It is worth 2 fu. Scoring basics →
- Tanyao 断幺九
- The “all simples” yaku: only tiles from 2 to 8, no terminals, no honours. One han, one of the most common yaku. Scoring basics →
- Tenpai 聴牌
- Being one tile away from winning. The hand has 13 tiles and waits for its fourteenth. How a game goes →
- Tobi 飛び
- Falling below zero points. Depending on the table rules, the game ends at once. How a game goes →
- Toimen 対面
- The player sitting opposite you. How a game goes →
- Toitsu 対子
- A pair: two identical tiles. How a game goes →
- Tonpuusen 東風戦
- The short game: the East round only, at least four hands. How a game goes →
- Tsumo 自摸
- Drawing, and winning with the tile you just drew. The three opponents then share the payment. How a game goes →
- Tsumogiri ツモ切り
- Discarding the tile you just drew straight away, without keeping it. It is what a player in riichi does. How a game goes →
U
- Uma ウマ
- Placement points added at the end of the game (for example +15, +5, −5, −15 in thousands). Mostly in tournaments. How a game goes →
- Ura-dora 裏ドラ
- Extra dora, shown by the tiles hidden under the indicators. They are only turned over when a riichi hand wins. Scoring basics →
W
- Wanpai 王牌
- The dead wall: the last 14 tiles, which are not drawn. It holds the dora indicators and the replacement tiles for kans. How a game goes →
Y
- Yaku 役
- A combination that brings han. You need at least one yaku to win: dora alone are not enough. Scoring basics →
- Yakuhai 役牌
- A triplet of dragons, of the round wind or of your seat wind: a one-han yaku, allowed in an open hand. Scoring basics →
- Yakuman 役満
- The most expensive hand: 32,000 points for a non-dealer, 48,000 for the dealer. Thirteen orphans, four concealed triplets, big three dragons… Scoring basics →
- Yaochuuhai 么九牌
- Terminals (1 and 9) and honours. Their triplets are worth twice as many fu as those of simples. The tiles →
A word missing? The names of the yaku, with their value, are all in the scoring sheet. See all the yaku.