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American Mah Jongg Glossary

This glossary is a simple reference for American Mah Jongg terms, written for players who want clear, NMJL-aligned explanations without extra noise.
 

A

AMJA — American Mah Jongg Association; the trusted home for American Mah Jongg players.


Annual Card — The NMJL card released each spring that lists the valid hands to play for that year.

Any Suit — A card instruction meaning you may use any one suit (Bams, Craks, or Dots) unless the card requires multiple suits.

Any 2 Suits / Any 3 Suits — A card instruction meaning the hand must use two or three suits, but the specific suits are your choice.
 

B

Bams — One of the three suited tile families, numbered 1–9.

Blind Pass — A Charleston pass where a player passes tiles without seeing them, used in specific situations.

Break (the Wall) — The point where the wall is opened to begin the deal, determined by dice.

Build the Walls — Creating the tile walls (two tiles high and 19 tiles long) before dealing.
 

C

Call (a Tile) — Taking another player’s discard to complete an exposed grouping (never for singles or pairs).

Charleston — The required pre-play tile-passing sequence in American Mah Jongg.

Concealed Hand — One of the two types of hands displayed on the current National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) Card and marked with an “C”. This type of hand is also referred to as a “Closed Hand”. This hand type allows a player to only claim any natural tile (non-Joker) for Mah Jongg. Joker Exchanges are allowed with this hand type.
 

Consecutive Run — A sequence of numbers in order (example: 3-4-5), used in some card hands.

Correctly Named — When a player clearly announces the name of the tile they are discarding so all players are aware of the exact tile being discarded. 

It is recommended that the following guidelines be used to when discarding a tile: 

  • For a suit tile (Bam, Crak, or Dot), a player should state the numerical value and the suit. Examples: “Two Bam”, “Seven Crak”, or “Four Dot”.

  • For a wind tile, a player should state the single word (cardinal direction) associated with the tile. Examples: “North”, “East”, “West” or “South”. 

  • For a dragon tile, a player should state the single word associated with the tile. Examples: “Red”, “Green”, “White”, or “Soap”.

    • Note: White Dragons are also referred to as Soap and therefore either name clearly identifies the tile being discarded.

  • For a flower tile, a player should state the single word “Flower”. No other word or number shown on the tile should be spoken to minimize confusion. 

  • For a joker tile, a player should state either “Joker”, “Same” or repeat the fully named tile previously discarded. If East’s first discard is a joker then “Joker” must be stated.


Craks (Characters) — One of the three suited tile families, numbered 1–9.

Current Year Card — The NMJL card for the current playing year; hands must match this card.
 

D

Dead Hand — A hand that cannot win because of an illegal exposure, illegal call, or because it no longer matches any card line.

Dead Hand Challenge — When a player announces that another player’s hand should cease to be played due to a rule violation, invalid exposure, unwinnable hand, or player error. 

The player’s challenge should be unambiguous and loud enough so that all players can hear the declaration.


Dealer — The player position that is referred to as Dealer, East, Pivot, or First Player. This player is responsible for breaking the wall and serving the first wall. This player begins the game with 14 tiles and discards the first tile after the Charleston is finished. Upon the completion of a game, this position rotates to the right (counterclockwise) to the next player.


Discard — The tile a player throws face-up into the center on their turn.

Dots (Circles) — One of the three suited tile families, numbered 1–9.

Dragon (Red/Green/White) — One of three types of dragon tiles used in specific hands and groupings.

Draw — Taking one tile from the wall on your turn (unless you called a discard).
Drawn Hand — A hand built by drawing from the wall rather than calling many tiles.
 

E

Earthly Hand — When the Dealer (East), has Mah Jongg at the end of any phase of the Charleston. The Dealer is the only player able to declare Mah Jongg at the end of any phase of the Charleston because the Dealer is the only player to have 14 tiles during the Charleston. This Mah Jongg is considered self-picked and therefore the Dealer is paid double the hand value from all players.


East — A wind tile; also the first dealer position in many groups depending on table rules.

Exposed — Tiles shown face-up on the rack after calling a discard to complete a grouping.

Exposure — A revealed grouping on a player’s rack, created by calling a discard.
 

F

Face-Up Discards — The central discard area where thrown tiles are visible to all players.

Flowers (FFFF) — The Flower tiles are typically engraved with images of flowers. Flower tiles may be engraved with numbers however in American Mah Jongg these numbers have no significance in the game. The Flower tiles are always suitless. An American Mah Jongg set of tiles must contain 8 Flower tiles.
 

Four Winds — North, East, South, West

Full Line — One complete line on the NMJL card; a winning hand must match a full line correctly.
 

G

Game — One full hand of play from deal through Mah Jongg declaration.

Grouping — A set of identical tiles (pair, pung, kong, quint) used to form a valid hand.

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H

Hand (Mah Jongg Hand) — The 14-tile set a player builds to match a specific line on the card.

Heavenly Hand — When the Dealer (East), has Mah Jongg before the Charleston begins. The Dealer is the only player able to declare Mah Jongg before the Charleston because the Dealer is the only player to have 14 tiles before the Charleston. This Mah Jongg is considered self-picked and therefore the Dealer is paid double the hand value from all players.

 

I

Illegal Call — Calling a discard for a grouping that is not allowed (often results in a dead hand).

Invalid Exposure — When a player creates an exposure that would make the player’s hand dead if another player issues a dead hand challenge. Exposures of this type are:

 

J

Joker — The Joker tiles are typically engraved with the word “Joker” and a symbol indicating that this tile is special. Joker tiles are “wild” which means the Joker tile may be used to represent any other tile in groupings of identical tiles consisting of 3 or more tiles. An American Mah Jongg set of tiles must contain 8 Joker tiles.

Jokerless — When a player’s exposed 14-tile winning Mah Jongg hand does not contain a Joker tile. A Mah Jongg hand without Joker tiles doubles the hand value of the winning hand. The doubling of the value of the hand does not apply to any of the hands in the “Singles and Pairs” section of the NMJL Card as the value of these hands already takes into account that Joker tiles can not be used in these hands.


Joker Swap — An action that a player may perform when it is their turn to play that allows a player to trade a natural tile from their unexposed tiles (tiles in the sloping portion of their rack) for a Joker tile exposed on either the top of their own rack or on top of any other player’s rack. This action must not be initiated until after the player has picked a tile from the wall or claimed a discarded tile and made a valid exposure.

 
Jokers Not in Singles/Pairs — A rule: jokers cannot be used in single tiles or pairs.
 

K

Kong — A grouping that consists of four identical tiles. Joker tiles are allowed and up to four Joker tiles can be used in this grouping, depending on how the grouping is exposed. If the exposure occurs due to claiming a discarded tile the exposure can contain up to three (3) Joker tiles. If the exposure occurs due to a player declaring Mah Jongg and exposing all of their tiles, the exposure may contain up to four (4) Joker tiles.


L

Line — A specific hand pattern listed within a section on the NMJL card.
Like Numbers — Hands built around repeating the same number in one or more suits, based on the card.
 

M

Mah Jongg — The winning declaration made when a player completes a valid hand that matches a card line.

Matching Tiles — Identical tiles (same suit and number, or same honor tile).

Meld — Another word often used for an exposed grouping (pung/kong/quint).

Mahjong in Error — When a player declares they have a winning 14-tile hand but upon verification by the other players it is determined the player made an error and does not have a valid winning hand. The player’s hand is immediately declared a Dead Hand and the game continues with the other players.

 

N

National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) — The organization that publishes the annual card and standardized rules.

Natural Tile — Any tile in an American Mah Jongg set other than a Joker tile. 

An American Mah Jongg set of tiles contains 144 natural tiles:


North — A wind tile; suitless.
 

O

Open Hand — A hand that allows exposures; not marked “Concealed” on the card.

Opposite Suit — A card instruction that usually means a different suit from another grouping (not a specific suit).

Optional Charleston — The second Charleston sequence that may occur depending on table rules and the card year.
 

P

Pair — A set of two identical tiles; jokers are not allowed in pairs.

Pass — Sending tiles during the Charleston.

Pick (from the Wall) — Drawing a tile from the wall on your turn.

Playing Area — The open area located within the center of the table that is naturally created by the racks of the four players. This is the area where all dice rolls should occur and all discarded tiles placed.

Pung — A set of three identical tiles; jokers may be used in a pung.
 

Q

Quint — A set of five identical tiles; jokers may be used in a quint.
 

R

Rack — The tile holder each player uses to organize their hand and exposures.

Racking — The action of a player placing a tile on the sloping side of the player’s rack. This action is complete (finished) when the tile is seated on the sloping side of the rack and the player’s fingers have been taken off of the tile. This action is not required during a player’s turn. A player tapping their tile on their rack is not a part of this action nor is it a substitute for this action. A player tapping their tile on their rack is not an official action and has no impact on the game or the player’s turn.


Re-deal — Starting the hand over; typically happens if the deal is incorrect or tiles are missing (depends on table rules).


S

Section — A category on the NMJL card that groups similar types of hands.

Self-Draw — Drawing a tile from the wall (required for concealed hands).

Singles — Individual tiles on the card used for visual patterns (like “2025”); jokers can never represent singles.

Singles & Pairs — A card section featuring hands made mostly of singles and pairs (no jokers in those groupings).

Soap — Common nickname for the White Dragon tile; suitless when used as a zero on the card.

South — A wind tile; suitless.

Suit — One of the three numbered tile families: Bams, Craks, Dots.

Suitless — Not part of a suit (flowers, winds, and some uses of white dragons).
 

T

Table Rules — House rules agreed upon by the group (must not conflict with NMJL core rules for legal hands).

Tile — A single Mah Jongg piece used to build hands.

Tile Count — The number of tiles required in a grouping or full hand (14 tiles total to win).

Turn — A player’s action cycle: draw or call, then discard.
 

U

Unexposed — Another way to say concealed or not shown; depends on context.

Unwinnable — A player’s hand is impossible to complete if the remaining tile(s) the player needs to achieve their hand are not possible to obtain either due to the required tile(s) already being discarded (dead tiles) or are used in another player’s exposure. 

If a player’s hand becomes unwinnable a dead hand challenge may be declared by another player.


Example: Player A has four exposures and only a Pair of 6 Dot will complete their hand for Mah Jongg. During Player B’s turn, Player B exposes a Pung of 6 Dots. Player A now has an unwinnable hand since Player A needs a Pair of 6 Dot however this pair is impossible to achieve since three of the four 6 Dot tiles have been used in Player B’s exposure and a Pair can not be created with a Joker tile.

 

V

Visible Tiles — Tiles seen in discards and exposures that influence decision-making.
 

W

Wall — The stacked tiles used for drawing during the game.

Wall Game — When all 152 tiles from the four walls have been claimed and no player can declare Mah Jongg the game is over with no winner. A new game is started and the Dealer position rotates to the next person to the Dealer’s right (counterclockwise).

West — A wind tile; suitless.

White Dragon — A dragon tile; also called “Soap.” When used as a zero on the card, it is suitless.

Window of Opportunity — The period of time where a discarded tile can be claimed by another player. The period of time to claim a discarded tile begins (opens) as soon as the discarder fully names a discarded tile or when any part of the discarded tile touches the playing area, whichever action occurs first. The period of time to claim a discarded tile is over (closed) when one of the following actions occurs by the player to the right of the discarder:

  • picks a tile from the wall and places the tile in their rack (racking the tile)

  • picks a tile from the wall and discards the picked tile

  • picks a tile from the wall and declares Mah Jongg

  • picks a tile from the wall and initiates a Joker Exchange


Winds — North, East, South, West; suitless honor tiles.

Winning Hand — A complete, legal 14-tile hand matching one full line on the current NMJL card.
 

Y

Year Hands — Hands on the card that use the current year numbers (example: 2025).


Z

Zero (0) — On year-based hands, zero is represented by the White Dragon when the card indicates it.

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This glossary is published by the American Mah Jongg Association — the trusted home for American Mah Jongg players.

Suggested next reads: What Is American Mah Jongg • How to Read the NMJL Card • American Mah Jongg Rules • FAQ

 

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