Mahjong Glossary
Game Terms
In this section you can find some of the most common terms used in the game of Mahjong.
- Knitted Tiles – oldest type of Mahjong; introduced to America in the 1920’s.
- Kong – Set of four identical tiles.
- Major Tiles – Honours and terminals.
- Matchin Chows – Two matching chows in different suits.
- Meld – A set.
- Nine Gates – A single suit hand in which any tile of the same suit completes the hand.
- Progressive Chows – Chows stepped up one or two digits.
- Progressive Pungs – Pungs stepped up one digit.
- Pung – Set of three identical tiles.
- Reversible Tiles – Tiles that have the same appearance when inverted.
- Self-drawn – A tile drawn from the wall.
- Sequence – Set of suit tiles in numerical order.
- Set – Chow, pung or kong.
- Simples – Suit tiles other than terminals.
- Stepped – Chows separated by one or two numbers.
- Terminals – Tiles one and nine of the three suits.
- Thirteen Orphans – A hand composed of one each of every major tile, one tile paired.
- Twin Chows – Two identical chows in the same suit.
- Void Suit– A hand lacking tiles of one suit.
- Wall – Tiles assembled face down at the start of the game.
- Wind, Own – Wind corresponding to the player’s seat.
- Wind, Prevailing – The wind of the round.
- Wind, Seat – Wind corresponding to the player’s seat.