The Complete American Mahjong Glossary: Every Term You Need to Know

The Complete American Mahjong Glossary: Every Term You Need to Know

Charleston? Pung? Dead wall? If mahjong table talk sounds like a foreign language, this glossary will have you fluent by Friday game night.

Every hobby has its own vocabulary, and American Mahjong has more than most. Here's every term you'll hear at the table — organized from the tiles up — so you can follow the conversation, learn faster, and play with confidence.

The Tiles

Suits — The three main families of tiles: Bams (bamboo sticks), Dots (circles), and Craks (Chinese characters). Each suit runs 1 through 9, with four copies of every tile.

Honors — The Winds (East, South, West, North) and Dragons (Red, Green, White). Not part of any suit.

Flowers — Decorative tiles that don't belong to a suit. In American mahjong, most hands that use Flowers simply need "any Flowers" — which is what makes them so valuable.

Joker — The great wild card of American mahjong. A Joker can substitute for any tile in a Pung, Kong, Quint, or Sextet (but never in a Pair). Eight Jokers per set — and whoever controls them controls the table.

Blank — Spare tiles with no face, included for replacing lost tiles.

The Combos

Pair — Two matching tiles.

Pung — Three identical tiles.

Kong — Four identical tiles.

Quint — Five identical tiles (only possible with a Joker).

Sextet — Six identical tiles (requires two Jokers). The rarest and most valuable combo on the card.

The Setup

The Wall — The neat stack of tiles (two levels high) built in front of each player. All play draws from the wall.

Washing the Tiles — The satisfying shuffle: everyone turns tiles face-down and swirls them around the table with both hands before building the wall.

East (Dealer) — The starting player, determined by dice roll. East begins with 14 tiles; everyone else starts with 13.

Prevailing Wind — The wind of the current round. Each full round rotates through all four winds before the game ends.

The Gameplay

Draw & Discard — The heartbeat of the game: take a tile from the wall, then discard one tile face-up. Every turn.

The Charleston — The signature American ritual. Before play begins, players pass three tiles to the right, then three across, then three left — with optional final pass. Strategy begins here.

Blind Pass — During the last Charleston move, you may pass tiles you just received without looking at them first.

Calling (Claiming) — Taking a discarded tile to complete an exposure. Priority: if two players want the same discard, the next player in turn order wins.

Exposure — A completed combination (Pung, Kong, Quint) placed face-up on the table. Exposures show everyone what you're building.

Exchange — Swapping a Joker from your hand for a matching tile in someone's exposure. One of the most powerful moves in the game.

The Finish

Mahjong! — The winning call. Your hand matches a hand on the NMJL card, and the table stops.

Self-Pick (Wall Game Win) — Winning on a tile you drew yourself. Pays double.

Discard (Giver) — The player whose discarded tile completes someone else's mahjong. Pays double.

Wash-Out (Wall Game) — The wall runs out with no winner. Redeal and play again.

The Card

The NMJL Card — The official list of valid winning hands, published fresh each April by the National Mah Jongg League. Every hand shows its difficulty and tile requirements.

Concealed Hand — A winning hand built entirely in your rack with no exposures — usually worth more.

Single & Pair Hands — Hands built from one-of-each and pairs. Often marked as easier, and ideal for newer players.

Table Talk

"Two on a tile" — Two of the same tile already discarded; the other two are harder to get.

"Death tile" — A discard that hands someone the win. You'll hear "Don't throw the death tile!" at every table in America.

"Blessing" — Landing exactly the tile you needed. Usually followed by laughter.

Speak the Language, Play the Game

The fastest way to absorb this vocabulary isn't memorizing — it's playing, with tiles whose faces are easy to read at a glance. Our Heritage Ivory set features deep, high-contrast engravings that make every symbol instantly recognizable, and the Blush Lotus and Jade Pavilion sets add hand-illustrated art you'll love learning on.

Bookmark this page, bring it to your first few games, and within a month all these words will be yours. It's not just a game. It's a lifestyle.