There are lots of new terms to learn when playing Mahjong. Here is a quick glossary of some common mahjong terms. Drop us a comment if we've missed any!
NUMBERS OF TILES:
You'll find reference to standard groupings of tiles using these names for the numbers of tiles:
- Single = One Tile
- Pair = Two Tiles
- Pung = Three Tiles
- Kong = Four Tiles
- Quints = Five Tiles
BIRD BAM:
The 1 Bam is known as the “Bird Bam,” because the tile features a bird. When the Bird Bam is discarded, players clink glasses, cheers, and drink. This is a House Rule, fun but not required. This is the fun way we got our name!
DRAGONS:
Each suit has its own dragon, but often in gameplay the dragon names are shortened. Red Dragon can be called simply “Red.” Green Dragon can be called simply “Green.” White Dragon can be called “Soap."
CALLING:
To call a tile, a player can say: “Pause,” “Call,” “Take,” “Mine.” The House Favorite of “PausePausePausePausePause” is also acceptable! Feel free to also say, "oh, wait, nevermind," if you realize you can't call the tile you wanted.
LIVE TILES & DEAD TILES:
The “Live Tile” is the tile that was just discarded and is available to be called. It is “Live” until the next player draws and racks their tile.
A “Dead Tile” is a tile that has been discarded on a previous turn. Once a tile is “Dead” it cannot be called. A Blank can be used to recover a Dead Tile, if you play with Blanks.
MAHJ:
Our favorite term when playing is MAHJ! When you complete your hand to win, you exclaim “Mahj!” or “Mahjong!” Then display your full hand on top of your rack.
NEWS:
NEWS stands for one of each of the Winds and their directions, North, East, West, and South.
BAM, DOT, CRAK:
Bam, Dot, and Crak are the three suits in Mahjong. Bam is short for bamboo and is traditionally depicted as sticks of bamboo. Dot is traditionally depicted as coin-like shapes. Crak traditionally has the Chinese “wàn” symbol, which stands for 10,000 and symbolizes good fortune.
CLOSED / EXPOSED:
On the NMJL card, each hand has a letter and point value associated. The letter tells whether the hand is Closed/Concealed (C) or Exposed (X). When playing a Closed hand (C), the player may not call a tile unless it is the final tile to Mahj. All tiles for a C hand must be pulled from the wall.
HOUSE RULES:
Every group plays a bit differently, incorporating their own House Rules—rules that are not part of NMJL. Some examples of House Rules: Playing with blanks. Clinking and drinking when a Bird Bam is discarded.