[Glossary of Mahjong Terms #2] Mahjong Tile-Related Terms

By TAKEYuichi

September 15, 2025 4 min read

Mahjong Tile-Related Terms

Mahjong is played with beautifully designed tiles, and knowing their types and names is essential for understanding the game. In this section, we explain the different categories of tiles—honor tiles, suit tiles, special tiles—as well as key terms related to handling tiles, such as dealing, arranging, and identifying safe or dangerous tiles. Mastering these words will help you read the flow of play and communicate clearly with other players.

1. Basic Tile Concepts

Tile （牌 / Pai）: The game pieces used in mahjong. There are 34 distinct types: 7 honor tiles and 27 suit tiles. Each tile type has 4 copies, for a total of 136 tiles. fundamentals
Initial Deal （配牌 / Haipai）: Distributing tiles at the start of each hand. The dealer receives 14 tiles; each non-dealer receives 13. setup
Hand Tiles （手牌 / Tehai）: The tiles you hold during play. Normally 14 for the dealer and 13 for non-dealers. in-hand

2. Wall / Dead Wall / Setup

Dead Wall （王牌 / Wanpai）: A block of 14 tiles reserved at the end of the wall. Not used for normal draws. Exception: the four Rinshan tiles are drawn as replacements after a Kan. dead wall
Wall （牌山 / Haiyama） / （壁牌 / Pi-pai）: The stacked tiles placed at the start of each hand. Each player builds 17 tiles × 2 layers; together they form the full wall. Pi-pai (wall tiles) typically refers to the wall excluding the dead wall. wall
Shuffling Tiles （洗牌 / Shihai・Shāpai）: Mixing all tiles thoroughly before building the wall. setup
Opening the Wall （開門 / Kaimen）: Cutting/opening the wall for the initial deal according to the dealer’s dice. setup

3. Tile States & Arrangement

Too Many Tiles （多牌 / Tahai）: Having more tiles than allowed (over 13 for a non-dealer). You cannot win that hand while in this state. irregular
Too Few Tiles （少牌 / Shōhai）: Having fewer tiles than allowed. You cannot win that hand while in this state. irregular
Arranging Tiles （理牌 / Rīpai）: Sorting your tiles by type/sequence for easier reading during play. technique

4. Safety & Winning Tiles

Safe Tile （安全牌 / Anzenpai, “Anpai”）: A tile considered safe to discard because it is unlikely to complete another player’s winning hand. defense
Dangerous Tile （危険牌 / Kikenpai）: A risky discard that has a high chance of completing an opponent’s hand. defense
Winning Tile （アガリ牌 / Agarihai）: The last tile needed to complete a legal winning hand—either self-drawn (tsumo) or claimed from a discard (ron). win

5. Suits & Honors

Wind Tiles （風牌 / Fūnpai・Kazehai）: The four winds: East, South, West, North. honors
Honor Tiles （字牌 / Tsūpai）: All non-suited tiles: the four winds and the three dragons (White, Green, Red)—7 types total. honors
Suit Tiles （数牌 / Shūpai）: Numbered tiles in three suits from 1–9: Dots (Pinzu), Bamboos (Sōzu), Characters (Manzu). 27 types total. suits
Dragon Tiles （三元牌 / Sangempai）: The three dragons among honors: White (Haku), Green (Hatsu), Red (Chun). honors
Dots / Circles （筒子 / Pinzu）: One through Nine Dots—round circle designs. suit
Characters （萬子 / Manzu・Wanzu）: One through Nine Characters—Chinese numerals with the 萬 character. suit
Bamboos （索子 / Sōzu）: One through Nine Bamboos—slender bamboo designs (note: One Bamboo often depicts a bird). suit
Flower Tiles （花牌 / Fāpai・Hanahai）: Special tiles used in Chinese-style mahjong depicting seasons/flowers. Typically not used in Japanese Riichi. special

6. Number-Based Classes

Middle Tiles （中張牌 / Chūnchanpai）: Numbers 2–8 in any suit. classification
“Third-from-Edge” Tiles （尖張牌 / Senchanpai）: The 3s and 7s—third from each edge (1 and 9). Often important for specific waits, such as edge-related patterns. classification
Terminal Tiles （老頭牌 / Rōtōhai）: Numbers 1 and 9 in any suit. classification
Terminals & Honors （幺九牌 / Yaochūhai）: All terminals (1s and 9s) plus all honor tiles—the set used in many yaku conditions. classification

7. Special & Endgame Tiles

Rinshan Tiles （嶺上牌 / Rinshan-hai）: The last four tiles adjacent to the dora indicator in the dead wall; drawn as replacements after declaring a Kan. dead wall
Haitei Tile （海底牌 / Haitei-hai）: The very last tile remaining in the wall. endgame
Hōtei Tile （河底牌 / Hōtei-hai）: The final discard made after the haitei draw has been taken. endgame

8. Winds, Round/Seat Winds & Yakuhai

“Guest Wind” （オタ風 / Otakaze）: A wind tile that is neither the current round wind nor your own seat wind. Also called Otakaze-hai （オタ風牌）, Kyaku-fūnpai （客風牌）. wind
Round Wind （場風 / Bakaze）: The wind matching the current round (East Round → East wind; South Round → South wind). Also called Bakaze-hai（場風牌）, Chan-fūnpai / Shō-fūnpai（圏風牌 / 荘風牌）. yakuhai
Seat Wind （自風 / Jikaze; 門風 / Menfon）: Your personal wind for the current hand (dealer = East, South seat = South, etc.). Also called Jikaze-hai（自風牌）, Menfon-pai（門風牌）. yakuhai
Yakuhai (Fan Tiles) （翻牌 / Fanpai）: Honor tiles that award han when completed as a triplet/quad: dragons, seat wind, and round wind. yakuhai
Double Wind Tile （連風牌 / Renfūnpai・Lien-feng）: A wind tile that is both the round wind and your seat wind. Counts as two yakuhai simultaneously. yakuhai
Double East （ダブ東 / Dabuton）: When you are East seat in the East Round and complete a triplet/quad of East—counts as both seat wind and round wind (2 han total). yakuhai
Double South （ダブ南 / Dabunan）: When you are South seat in the South Round and complete a triplet/quad of South—counts as both seat wind and round wind (2 han total). yakuhai

9. Miscellaneous

Discard River Area （河 / Kawa）: The central table area where discards are placed in front of each player, forming the “rivers.” table layout
Isolated Tile （孤立牌 / Koritsuhai）: A tile in your hand that does not currently connect to any set or block—i.e., not part of a pair (toitsu), block (taatsu), sequence (shuntsu), or triplet (kōtsu). shape