American Mahjong Glossary

Every term, defined in plain language — 76 in all.

Tiles

152 tilesalso: tile count, full set: A full American Mahjong set has 152 playing tiles: three suits of 1–9 with 4 copies each (108), 4 copies each of the four Winds (16), 4 copies each of the three Dragons (12), 8 Flowers, and 8 Jokers. If a set has only 144 tiles, it's missing the Jokers — that's a Chinese-style set.
Bam (Bamboo)also: bamboo: One of the three suits, depicted with bamboo stalks. Numbered 1–9, 4 copies of each in the set.
Bird tilealso: 1 Bam: A common nickname for the 1 Bam tile, which depicts a bird (often a peacock, sparrow, or rooster) instead of a single bamboo stalk. It looks similar to a Flower at first glance — if there's a bird on it, it's a 1 Bam.
Crak (Character)also: character: One of the three suits, marked with the Chinese character for the number. Numbered 1–9, 4 copies of each in the set.
Dot (Circle)also: circle: One of the three suits, depicted as round circles or coins. Numbered 1–9, 4 copies of each in the set.
Dragon: Three types: Red Dragon (中), Green Dragon (發), and White Dragon / Soap (blank or framed). 4 copies of each.
Dragon–suit pairingalso: dragon suits, matching dragons: Each Dragon belongs to a suit: Red Dragon with Craks, Green Dragon with Bams, and Soap (White Dragon) with Dots. When a hand on the card asks for dragons that match a suit, this pairing is what it means. Winds, Flowers, and Jokers, by contrast, belong to no suit at all.
Floweralso: season: Special bonus tiles. There are 8 in the set (sometimes called 4 flowers + 4 seasons, but at the American table they're all just "Flowers"). Used in specific hands on the card.
Joker: The wild-card tile. There are 8 in the set. Jokers may substitute in any group of 3+ identical tiles (Pungs, Kongs, Quints), but never in a pair or single. Cannot be passed in the Charleston, cannot be called from the discard pile.
NEWS: Mnemonic for the four Wind tiles: North, East, West, South — the order they're commonly listed in hands on the card. Play itself simply moves to your right around the table, starting with East.
Rack: The tile holder in front of each player. Has a ledge where your tiles sit facing you (hidden from others) and a flat top area where exposed groups go when you call.
Soapalso: White Dragon: The everyday name for the White Dragon, which is either blank or shows a simple frame — like a bar of soap. It pulls double duty: it's a Dragon in Winds & Dragons hands, and it stands in as a zero in number-based hands like Year hands and 2468. When the card shows a 0, that means Soap.
Wind: Four types — East (東), South (南), West (西), North (北) — with 4 copies of each. Used in specific hands on the card and to mark seating positions.

Setup

Break the wall: East rolls the dice and breaks their own wall. The dice total tells you how many stacks in from the right end to split. The opening point is where East draws the first tiles.
Curtsy (Curtsying the wall)also: curtsying: Pushing the next wall forward and slightly diagonal so it can be dealt from when the current wall runs out.
Dealer: Strictly speaking, there is no dealer in American Mahjong — each player takes their own tiles from the wall. The role other games give a dealer belongs to East: East breaks the wall, draws first, starts with the extra 14th tile, and makes the first discard, which officially starts the game.
East: The player who starts with the extra 14th tile and makes the first discard — the official start of the game. East breaks the wall and draws first. The other seats are also named by direction, though those terms are rarely used outside tournaments. After each hand, East rotates to the right (counter-clockwise).
Mix (Wash)also: wash, washing: The shuffle. All 152 tiles are placed face-down and mixed around by hand before building the wall. Also called "washing."
Push the wallalso: push your wall: Sliding your wall forward toward the center of the table so it can be drawn from. When the current wall runs out during the deal, the next player to the left (clockwise) pushes their wall in. See also Curtsy.
Pusheralso: wall pusher: The long flat arm attached to (or paired with) your rack, used to slide your wall of tiles toward the center of the table without knocking it over. American sets usually include four. They're not required — you can push the wall by hand — but they keep the wall straight and save your back.
Racking: Placing a drawn tile onto your rack. After someone discards, the next player should pause briefly before racking to give others a chance to call.
Wall: The 4-sided structure of stacked tiles in the middle of the table at the start of the game. Each side is built by one player: 19 tiles long, 2 high.

Charleston

Blind pass: A move on the first left (pass 3) or the last right (pass 6) where you push along 1, 2, or 3 tiles you just received without looking at them. Not allowed on the courtesy pass. Peeking before deciding is considered cheating.
Charleston: The unique tile-trading ritual at the start of every American Mahjong hand — 6 passes plus an optional courtesy. First Charleston (right → across → left) is mandatory; second Charleston (left → across → right) is optional. Followed by the optional courtesy pass with the player across.
Courtesy pass: After both Charlestons, you and the player across may trade tiles. Each of you names a number from 0 to 3, and you both pass the lower of the two. Naming zero means no trade — that's always allowed. No jokers.
First Charleston: The mandatory first three passes: right → across → left. Everyone must do all three. Cannot be skipped.
ROLLOR: Mnemonic for the Charleston sequence: Right → Over (across) → Left → Left → Over → Right → optional courtesy. The two halves mirror each other around the "LL" in the middle.
Second Charleston: The optional second round of three passes (left → across → right) that happens after the first Charleston. Any single player can call "stop" to skip it without explanation — but this must be done before it begins. Once the second Charleston starts, all three passes must be completed; you can't stop partway through.

Calling

Callingalso: call: Claiming another player's discarded tile to complete a Pung, Kong, Quint, or Mahjong. You must say it out loud ("Call!" or "Mahjong!") before the next player racks.
Calling window: The brief stretch of time when a discard can still be claimed: from the moment it's named until the next player racks their drawn tile. Once that tile hits the rack, the window closes and the discard can no longer be called. This is why the polite pause before racking matters — it keeps the window honestly open.
Concealed hand (C)also: closed, C: A hand marked "C" on the card. You cannot call any tiles during play (you can still claim a discarded tile to win on Mahjong, but not before). Concealed hands are listed at higher base values than equivalent exposed hands — but the higher value is already in the printed number, NOT a payout multiplier.
Discard: A tile placed face-up in the center of the table at the end of a turn. You must name it out loud as you place it. Other players may call it before the next player racks.
Expose (Exposure): Laying a called group face-up on top of your rack so all players can see it. Required when you call a Pung or Kong. Exposures cannot be taken back, and they reveal information to opponents — every exposure is a tell.
Exposed hand (X)also: X: A hand marked "X" on the card. You may call tiles and expose groups during play. Easier to build than concealed hands, and worth less.
Joker exchange: On your turn, if any exposed group contains a joker and you have the real tile that joker stands for, you can swap your real tile for the joker. Hand the tile to the player whose rack holds the joker — never reach onto their rack yourself.
Kong: Four identical tiles. Can be made by drawing all four yourself, or by calling a discarded 4th when you already hold three. Jokers can substitute in a Kong.
Mahjong (call): The win declaration. You say "Mahjong!" the moment your 14 tiles match a hand on the card. If you're winning on someone's discard, you must call it before the next player racks their drawn tile; a self-drawn win you declare on your own turn.
Pair: Two identical tiles. Cannot be formed by calling (except as the final tile of a Mahjong claim). Jokers cannot substitute in a pair, ever.
Pung: Three identical tiles. Can be made by drawing them yourself or by calling a discarded 3rd when you already hold two matching tiles (two real, one real plus a joker, or two jokers). Jokers can substitute in a Pung.
Quint: Five identical tiles — yes, that exists in some hands on the card. Since only 4 copies of each number, wind, or dragon tile exist, a quint of those always uses at least one joker — and the tiles you hold to make it can even be all jokers.

Strategy

13579: A hand category on the NMJL® card built entirely from odd-numbered tiles (1s, 3s, 5s, 7s, 9s). Specific 13579 hands change yearly, but the category name always means odd-only.
2468: A hand category on the NMJL® card built entirely from even-numbered tiles (2s, 4s, 6s, 8s). Specific 2468 hands change yearly, but the category name always means even-only. Frequently includes Soaps (which act as 0s).
369: A hand category on the NMJL® card built around 3s, 6s, and 9s. Specific 369 hands change yearly, but the category name always restricts you to those three numbers.
Candidate hand: One of the 2–3 hands on the card you're building toward early in the game. The flexibility curve narrows from 3 → 2 → 1 candidates as the game progresses.
Card (NMJL® Card): The annual card published by the National Mah Jongg League® listing every legal winning hand for that year, with its value, suit restrictions, and whether it's exposed (X) or concealed (C). Required to play officially.
Consecutive Runalso: consec run: A hand category on the NMJL® card built from numbers in numerical order (e.g. 3-4-5 or 5-6-7). The card tells you the pattern (FF 11 222 333 4444); you choose which consecutive numbers to use within the constraint shown in parentheses.
Dead tilealso: live tile: A tile is dead for your hand when enough copies are already visible (in discards and exposures) that you can no longer collect what you need — if you need a Pung but three copies are on the table, your natural Pung is gone (though a Joker can still fill a group of three or more). A live tile still has enough unseen copies. Counting dead tiles is the heart of reading the table.
Fold (Folding): Shifting from playing to win to playing to not lose. You keep playing — drawing and discarding — but choose only the safest possible discards because an opponent is dangerously close to winning.
Hot suit: A suit that nobody at the table is discarding. Usually means at least one opponent is hoarding it. Avoid feeding the hot suit.
Like-numbers hand: A hand category built around the same number across multiple suits (e.g. groups of 5 Crak, 5 Bam, 5 Dot). Usually visible on the card under "Like Numbers."
NMJL®: The National Mah Jongg League® — the organization that publishes the official annual card and standardized American Mahjong rules.
One awayalso: waiting, ready: Needing exactly one more tile to complete your hand. Being one away is when calling matters most — and when opponents' defenses go up. Many players say they are waiting, or that a hand is set; it all means one tile from Mahjong.
Pivotalso: pivoting, switching hands: Switching from your primary candidate hand to a backup mid-game when the primary stalls (e.g., key tiles are dead in the discard pile or opponents are racing ahead). A successful pivot keeps you in the running; a poorly-timed pivot wastes draws. Best done before the wall gets short.
Quints (hand category)also: quint hands: A category of hands on the NMJL® card built around 5-tile groups (Quints). Because only 4 copies of each number, wind, or dragon tile exist, a Quint of those needs at least one Joker. Specific Quints hands change yearly, but the category always features Quints prominently.
Reading the wall: Tracking which tiles have been discarded or exposed so you know what's still "live." Once 3 of a tile are visible, the 4th is almost always safe to discard — only a joker-backed call (a 2-joker Pung, 3-joker Kong, or 4-joker Quint) is still possible.
Same-suit hand: A hand category that requires all groups to be in a single suit (all Bams, all Craks, or all Dots). Listed on the card as "Same Color" or similar.
Singles & Pairs: A hand category made entirely of pairs and single tiles. Jokers cannot be used anywhere in a Singles & Pairs hand. The jokerless bonus is already baked into the printed value, so don't double these at payout.
Tells (Reading exposures): The information leak when an opponent calls and exposes. Every exposure tells you their suit focus, number focus, and likely hand category. Your defense depends on reading them.
Winds & Dragons (hand category)also: winds and dragons, winds & dragons hand: A category of hands on the NMJL® card built primarily from the four Winds (N, E, W, S) and three Dragons (Red, Green, Soap). Often combined with Flowers, and some lines add a paired number group — the numbers can vary, so check the parentheses.
Year hand: A hand built around the digits of the current year (e.g. 2-0-2-6 for 2026). Often the easiest place for a beginner to start, since the digits are usually easy to spot in your starting tiles.

Scoring

Discarder pays double: When a player wins on a discard, the discarder pays the winner 2× the hand value, while the other two players pay only 1×.
Hand valuealso: point value: The number printed next to each hand on the NMJL® card — the base amount each losing player pays the winner. Harder hands carry higher values, and concealed versions are priced higher than comparable exposed ones. Bonuses like discarder-pays-double and the jokerless double are applied on top of this printed number.
Jokerless bonus: A winning hand with no jokers pays double. Stacks with the discarder / self-draw bonus. Exception: Singles & Pairs hands already have the bonus baked into the printed value — don't double them again.
Jokerless bonus rulealso: jokerless: The official NMJL® rule covering the jokerless bonus: a winning hand with no jokers pays double the normal value. Exception: Singles & Pairs hands can't use jokers at all, so they don't get the extra double — their higher printed value already reflects it. (The exact article number varies by rulebook edition — check your current NMJL® card.)
Self-draw (Self-pick)also: self pick: Drawing your winning tile from the wall yourself, with no discard involved. All three other players pay double.
Wall game: A hand where the wall runs out before anyone calls Mahjong. No payments are made. Reshuffle and redeal.

Etiquette

Article 67: The official NMJL® rule covering misnamed discards. If a player calls Mahjong on a misnamed tile, the Mahjong is valid and the misnamer alone pays the winner 4× the hand value. The other two players pay nothing.
Misnamed discard: Announcing a discarded tile by the wrong name. Covered by NMJL® Article 67 — if Mahjong is called on a misnamed tile, the misnamer alone pays the winner 4× the hand value. If an exposure is called on a misnamed tile, the call is invalid (no penalty unless the claimer prematurely makes an incorrect exposure, which kills their hand).
Name your discard: Official NMJL® rule: every discard must be announced out loud as it's placed. Other players need to hear the tile name in order to call it.
Pause before racking: Etiquette convention: after you draw a tile, count to about 3 before placing it on the sloped part of your rack. That pause is the window where any other player can call the previous discard. Racking too quickly can rob a legitimate call.
Table rulesalso: house rules: Local customs a group agrees to that go beyond (or bend) official NMJL® rules — extra penalties for a false Mahjong, blanks as wilds, different stakes, and so on. None are official, and every group's mix is different. When you join a new table, it's perfectly polite to ask about any table rules before the first hand.
Table talk: Commenting on the live hand — hinting at what you're collecting, reacting to a discard, or coaching another player mid-hand. It's considered poor form, because stray remarks leak information the tiles are meant to keep hidden. Save the analysis for after someone calls Mahjong.
Throwing your tiles in: Pushing your tiles face-down into the center at the end of a hand to mix them with the rest of the set. Once the winner's hand is verified and payouts are settled, everyone throws their tiles in and the next round begins. Don't throw your hand in before a Mahjong call is verified — per the NMJL® card's "Mah Jongg in Error" rules, a player who throws in their hand on an unverified call that turns out false carries that error themselves; the hand can't be reconstructed.

Mistakes

Dead hand: A hand that can no longer reach a valid winning position (because of an illegal call, wrong tile count, or other rule violation). Per NMJL®, another player must declare it dead — you can't call your own hand dead. Until then, keep playing defensively. Once declared, you stop drawing and discarding, stay seated, and still pay the winner.
False Mahjong: Calling Mahjong when your hand isn't actually valid. Per NMJL® rules, your hand is dead for the rest of the round — you stay seated but stop drawing and discarding, and you still pay the winner if someone else goes out. Some groups add an extra penalty, but that's a house rule.
Picking aheadalso: drawing out of turn, out of turn: Drawing a tile from the wall before it's your turn. Treated as a serious error in NMJL® rules — it can cost you a dead hand.

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