THE LANGUAGE OF THE TABLE
A friendly mahjong glossary.
Plain-language American mahjong definitions, all in one place.
18 terms
- American mahjong
A multiplayer mahjong style commonly played using an annual card of permitted winning hands.
- Bams
The bamboo suit, numbered 1 through 9. The 1 bam often has a bird design.
- Dots
The numbered suit represented by circles, with values from 1 through 9.
- Cracks
The characters suit, numbered 1 through 9.
- Winds
The four named tiles: East, South, West, and North.
- Dragons
Red, green, and white tiles, distinct from the numbered suits.
- Soap
A common nickname for the white dragon tile.
- Flowers
Special tiles used in designated card patterns; their artwork may vary.
- Joker
A substitute permitted in identical pungs, kongs, quints, or sextets shown on the card, but not singles, pairs, or non-identical groupings, under NMJL rules.
- Pair
A group of two identical tiles. Jokers cannot substitute in a pair.
- Pung
A group of three identical tiles.
- Kong
A group of four identical tiles.
- Charleston
The tile-passing phase before regular play in American mahjong.
- Discard
A tile a player releases from their hand during play.
- Exposure
A group shown on the rack after a permitted call. Some card hands must remain concealed.
- Rack
The holder that keeps your tiles upright and visible to you.
- Wall
Stacked rows of tiles from which players draw during the game.
- Mahjong
A completed legal winning hand; also the name of the game.
Introductory definitions, not a complete rulebook. Use your group’s current official rules for specific situations.