Vocabulary

pung (or kong) of north tiles when north is both the round wind and one's seat wind (meld)

giving up on winning a hand and discarding only safe tiles

giving up on winning a hand and discarding only safe tiles

discarding somewhat safe tiles while still trying to win a hand

win worth 18000 points as dealer

tanyao (winning hand containing no terminal tiles or honor tiles); all simples

having no end tiles or honor tiles and pinfu (common pair of melds)

combination of rīchi, tanyao, and pinfu (common trio of yaku)

chow; three-in-a-row

wait for the middle tile of a three-in-a-row which will finish one's hand

wait for the middle tile of a chow

one-sided wait for the end tile of a three-in-a-row which will finish one's hand (i.e. for a 3 while holding 1-2, or for a 7 while holding 8-9)

one-sided wait for the end tile of a three-in-a-row which will finish one's hand (i.e. for a 3 while holding 1-2, or for a 7 while holding 8-9)

three concealed pungs

wait to turn either of two pairs into a pung to finish one's hand

wait to turn either of two pairs into a three-of-a-kind to finish one's hand

waiting for one tile to finish one's pair and one's hand; waiting for half of one's pair with four melds completed

waiting for one tile to finish one's pair and one's hand while the rest of one's hand is exposed; waiting for half of one's pair with four melds exposed

pure straight; winning hand containing nine consecutive tiles of the same suit (i.e. 1-9) as three chows

pure double chow; winning hand containing two identical chows (i.e. same numbers and same suit)

pure double chow; winning hand containing two identical chows (i.e. same numbers and same suit)

pure double chow; winning hand containing two identical chows (i.e. same numbers and same suit)

pure double chow; winning hand containing two identical chows (i.e. same numbers and same suit)

the three players other than oneself

right-hand opponent; player to one's right

left-hand opponent; player to one's left

opposite player

first dealer

east player; dealer

south player

west player

north player

discarded tiles

to make a mistake (e.g. in choosing one's melds)

(an individual's) way of playing mahjong; mahjong tactics

big three dragons; winning hand consisting of pungs or kongs of each of the three types of dragon tiles

tanyao with open melds (not allowed in some rules); open tanyao

Oriental bay owl (Phodilus badius)

Tanzanian bay owl (Phodilus prigoginei); Congo bay owl

New Britain masked owl (Tyto aurantia); New Britain barn owl; golden masked owl; Bismarck owl; Bismarck masked owl