What do you say when playing mahjong?

It is traditional when you win a game of mahjong to say: "Sik wu." In Western circles sometimes winners will instead announce "mahjong."

What are the words on mahjong tiles?

These tiles each feature the character for compass directions: north (北, běi), east (東, dōng), south (南, nán), and west (西, xī). Like the characters simple suit, it is necessary to learn to read the cardinal direction characters in Chinese to recognize and organize this suit.

What does da san yuan mean in mahjong?

The mahjong combination is: DA SAN YUAN(大三元, Three dragons). Rules: The combination of mahjong pieces must contains three 5z (red dragon), three 6z (green dragon), three 7z (white dragon).

What do you yell in mahjong?

You can win mahjong by either yelling 'mahjong' and stealing the last tile you need from someone who has just discarded it, or by drawing the last tile from the deck. A single tile cannot be used in two sets at once.

What does Kong mean in mahjong?

There are three main types of melds: a Pong (three identical tiles), a Kong (four identical tiles), and a Chow (three suited tiles of the same suit in numerical sequence).

Learn how to play mahjong in 2.5 minutes

What is the difference between mahjong and American Mahjong?

What is the difference between American and Chinese mahjong? Traditional Chinese mahjong sets have 144 tiles, while American version is played with eight additional joker tiles and different score cards.

Who goes first in mahjong?

The goal of each player is to win the game by being the first person to declare "Mahjong" by correctly creating a hand that exactly matches a hand on the score card. Now the excitement begins as each player tries to improve their hand. Since East has 14 tiles, East starts the game by discarding a tile.

What do you say when you win mahjong?

It is traditional when you win a game of mahjong to say: "Sik wu." In Western circles sometimes winners will instead announce "mahjong."

Is there a trick to mahjong?

Have a clear plan of attack – Think about the direction you want to take your hand and stick with it, while also remaining flexible. Picking up tiles for the sake of it won't work, and patience will always win out in the end. If your strategy isn't working, change tactics and look for other winning possibilities.

How hard is it to learn mahjong?

Mahjong is a tile-based game that's been played in Asia for over 300 years and is gaining global popularity. Although the game is hard to master, it's fairly easy to learn the basics.

Can you play mahjong if you don't know Chinese?

There's no way around this, HSK haters: in order to play, you need to be able to read some Chinese and pronounce numbers in Mandarin, plus a few extra words to name the suits and announce your actions.

What does the green dragon mean in mahjong?

There are three "dragons": the red dragon (chun), symbolizing the middle or animal order (including humans), the green dragon (fa), symbolizing the lower or plant order of life, the white dragon (pai pan – white tile), symbolizing the higher or spirutual order of beings.

What are the four flowers in mahjong?

Depending on the Mahjong set, the flowers are commonly the Plum Blossom, Iris, Bamboo, and the Chrysanthemum. These four flowers/plants represent the Four Confucian Gentlemen/women.

How long does a game of mahjong take?

This depends on the level of experience of the players (newbies tend to need more time to think). With experienced players, a game typically takes around 10 minutes. When playing online against computer bots, games can be significantly faster and will typically take around 6 minutes on average.

What is the order of mahjong?

In Chinese tradition, the four wind tiles are shuffled face down and dealt to the players. Players then sit according to their tile and sit clockwise in the order north, west, south, east. East starts as the dealer. Modern players may simply roll the dice to determine the dealer.

What is the 4 of a kind rule in mahjong?

This is a kong - four of a kind. All four of a single tile = "kong." It counts as a special sort of pung. - When you have four identical tiles concealed within the hand, you have the option of melding them, declaring the four to be a kong that counts as concealed, so you can take a replacement tile.

Why is it called mahjong?

The name, signifying “sparrow” (maque), has been variously transliterated as ma tsiang, ma chiang, ma cheuk, and ma ch'iau. The sparrow or a mythical “bird of 100 intelligences” appears on one of the tiles. The name mah-jongg was coined and copyrighted by Joseph P.

What's so great about mahjong?

People playing these games are known to develop better cognitive strength even if they decide to break off playing for as long as a month. It is to no surprise that Mahjong has been found to preserve function and delay decline in elderly individuals with dementia, even in those with significant cognitive impairment.

What nationality plays mahjong?

It is commonly played by four players (with some three-player variations found in parts of China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia). The game and its regional variants are widely played throughout East and Southeast Asia and have also become popular in Western countries.

What does Pung mean in mahjong?

A Pung - a set of 3 identical tiles e.g. 3 x Red Dragons, 3 x Two circles. A Kong - a set of 4 identical tiles. e.g. 4 x Eight of Bamboos or 4 x North Winds. A Chow - a run of 3 tiles in the same suit.

What is Chow vs Pung?

A pung is a set of three identical tiles. A chow is a set of three tiles of the same suit and consecutive numbers.

What is a dragon in mahjong?

The Chinese name for the Dragon tiles means "three fundamental tiles" (三元牌). They are also known as the arrow tiles (箭牌). The English name ("Dragons") was an invention by Babcock. They are like wind tiles except melding them will always score bonus points regardless of the prevailing or seat wind.