Japanese mahjong yaku

In Japanese mahjong, yaku (Japanese: 役) is a condition that determines the value of the player's hand. It is essential to know the yaku for game strategy, since a player must have a minimum of one yaku in their hand in order to legally win a hand. Each yaku has a specific han value. Yaku conditions may be combined to produce hands of greater value. The game also features dora, that allow a hand to add han value, but that cannot count as yaku. Altogether, a hand's points value increases exponentially with every han a hand contains.

Overview

Yaku are somewhat similar to poker hands. They fit certain patterns based on the numbers or types of tiles included, as well as the relative value of the tiles. Unlike poker, however, multiple hand types may be combined to produce hands of greater value.

Yaku is divided into three categories:

• Hands that are mandatory to be closed (menzen-nomi, 門前のみ).
• Hands that loses one han if the hand is open ("Eat and decrease", a literal translation of kuisagari, 喰い下がり)
• Hands that can be closed or open and has the same han value.

Calling for another player's discard to make a meld makes the meld and the hand open. When a winning tile of a closed hand is a discard, the meld including that discard is considered open, while the hand is still regarded as closed. If a hand is closed, the situation is called "menzenchin (門前清)" or "menzen (門前)" in Japanese.

The basic concept of a yaku is that it fits into one of three basic criteria:

• It contains a pattern of some kind
• It can consistently be formed during a game, although it does not necessarily need to be common
• It is based on specific game situations, such as discards or actions taken by other players

Finally, when it comes to points scoring, the total number of han in the hand is counted. When the han value is four or less, fu is also counted. The combination of the han value and fu value corresponds to a points table.

List of yaku

The following is a list of all the yaku, their names in English and Japanese, their han values, and any special conditions related to them. They are listed here in groups according to the underlying patterns that define the yaku. Example hands are given, but they are often not the only possible hands with that yaku. All yaku can be divided into seven basic categories, depending on the dominant feature. The features are as follows: patterns based on sequences, patterns based on triplets and/or quads, consistency of the type and numbers of the tiles, lucky circumstances, and special criteria.

Special criteria

Name	Japanese	Han value	Remarks
Ready hand	rīchi – 立直, リーチ	1	Closed hands only
This yaku is often called reach because its Japanese name is phonetically similar to the English word. When a player's hand needs only one tile to win (tenpai) and the player has not claimed another players' discards to make open melds, the player can opt to declare rīchi or continue to play with a ready hand without making a declaration. Conditions after declaration To make a declaration, the player calls out “rīchi”, discards their tile placing it sideways, and places a 1,000-point stick on the table as a deposit. They must discard any tiles that do not form a winning hand, may not change the content of their hand under any circumstances, with the exception of declaring certain closed quads. In some rules, a player can declare ready only when there are four or more tiles remaining in the wall, meaning the player is allowed to draw another tile. The player is not penalized if other players make open melds or closed quads after the declaration that prevents the player from drawing another tile. When all four players declared ready, a hand ends as an abortive draw. Players show their hands to confirm they are tenpai or be penalized with chombo. Underneath dora When players declare ready and win, they can have access to underneath dora indicator tiles. This may include tiles underneath the dora indicators revealed by kan calls. Rīchi deposits The winner of the hand receives any 1,000-point riichi sticks. In the case of multiple winners, the player closest to the discarding player (moving forward) receives all rīchi deposits. When draws occur after ready hand declarations, any rīchi deposits carry-over and are placed near the counters, with the next winner receiving those rīchi deposits. In most cases, if a draw occur after a ready hand declaration, resulting in ending the game (such as exhaustive draws in the final round with the last dealer not ready to win or exhaustive draws causing one or more players to reach a negative score), the game ends and any rīchi deposits are forfeited. Claiming a rīchi discard If another player claims a rīchi discard to make open melds, the player who declared ready discards the next tile sideways. If a rīchi discard is called to win at the time, the declaration is considered incomplete and therefore the rīchi deposit is not forfeited. Declaring closed quads A closed quad can be declared after a declaration of ready when the fourth tile of a triplet is drawn. However, the quad must not otherwise change the composition of the hand or its waits. For example, when a player has , they can declare a closed quad when drawing the fourth . However, when they have waiting for , or , they cannot declare a quad when drawing because and would no longer be winning tiles.
Seven pairs	chītoitsu – 七対子, or chītoi – 七対	2	Closed hands only
A hand composed of seven pairs is considered a valid hand in Japanese mahjong. The hand is one of the two exceptions to the rule requiring winning hands to have four melds and a pair, the other being thirteen orphans. The hand also has its own special rules for scoring, in which the hand has a fixed fu value of 25. The format of this yaku does not count īpeikō when three pairs are in sequence, but the hand of ryanpeikō does not count as including seven pairs. In general Japanese rules, all seven pairs must be unique, meaning that the same four tiles may not be split into two pairs. Some rules accept the four same tiles, for instance in the Kansai region.
Nagashi mangan	nagashi mangan – 流し満貫	mangan	Closed/Open
This yaku is applied to discards, as opposed to the hand value itself. A player's discards are all terminals and honors. A hand must be a draw (abortive draws not applied). The hand is often recognized only if no other player called any discard from the player's discard pile. The player can make open melds depending on the rules. In most cases the value is considered a mangan. As for the payment, the hand is regarded as winning by self-draw. The rule of nō-ten bappu is usually not applied to this case as it is no longer regarded as a draw. In addition, this hand cannot be combined with the other yaku.

Yaku based on luck

These hands are all worth one han.

Name	Japanese	Han value	Closed/Open
Self-pick	menzenchin tsumohō – 門前清自摸和, or shortly tsumo – 自摸, ツモ	1	Closed hand only
When a player has a closed hand and draws a winning tile from the wall or the dead wall, one han is added including when the hand previously had no yaku. Open hands are not counted
One-shot	ippatsu – 一発	1	Requires Ready/Double Ready
A han is added when the player completes their hand (either as a discard or a self-drawn tile) within one go-around of play, without any open-meld declarations or forming a closed quad.
Last tile from the wall	haitei raoyue – 海底撈月, or haitei – 海底	1	Closed/Open
A player completes the hand via the last tile before the dead wall. Haitei raoyue roughly translates as "to scoop up the reflected moon from the seabed."
Last discard	hōtei raoyui – 河底撈魚, or houtei – 河底	1	Closed/Open
A player completes the hand via the last discarded tile from the opponent who drew the last tile from the wall. Hōtei raoyui roughly translates as "to scoop up a swimming fish from the riverbed."
Dead wall draw	rinshan kaihō – 嶺上開花, or rinshan – 嶺上	1	Closed/Open
A player wins the hand via drawing a supplemental tile from the dead wall to keep the number of tiles in the hand consistent, which is done after declaring a quad. Rinshan kaihō means "a flower blooms on a ridge". Sometimes the pao (包) rule is applied to this yaku, that is, if a player claims a discard to make an open quad and then completes their hand with a tile drawn from the dead wall, the player who discarded the tile is responsible for paying the entire amount for the hand.
Robbing a quad	chankan – 搶槓, 槍槓	1	Closed/Open
A player wins the hand from an opponent who declares a quad of said winning tile, as long as the winning player did not previously discard the tile from the open triplet due to a sacred discard (furiten) Player A has three 6's of dots in an open triplet and draws the fourth 6, and added it to the triplet for a quad. If player B waits to win by having a 4-5 of dots left, they can win on that 6. Player A then has to pay the full value of the hand. Robbing a closed quad for thirteen orphans Sometimes, a "closed" quad can be robbed to complete the thirteen orphans hand. For example, if player A makes a closed quad out of four west tiles, and player B is only waiting for a west to complete their thirteen orphans, player B can win on the west tile. However, this yaku is not counted since thirteen orphans is a Yakuman hand.
Double-ready	daburu rīchi – ダブルリーチ, or daburii – ダブリー	2	Closed hand only
A player declares a ready hand within the first go-around of a hand. All other conditions are the same as declaring a normal ready.

Yaku based on sequences

Name	Japanese	Han value	Closed/Open
No-points hand	pinfu – 平和	1	Closed hand only
A no-points hand is just that—a hand with no additional fu-points whatsoever. The hand must contain entirely sequences without triplets/quads, and the pair must not be a dragon tile or the wind that matches either the player or the current round. Furthermore, the hand must be waiting for multiple winning tiles that can make a sequence, such as having number 2 and 3 and waiting for 1 or 4. The hand must not be a closed, edge or pair wait (which awards points). When the hand is won by drawing from the wall, as an exception, in most rules the two fu for the self-drawing are not awarded. Combination of no-points hand and self-pick In some rules, when a hand has the two yaku of no-points hand and self-pick (menzenchin tsumohou), the no-points hand is not counted and instead two fu of self-drawing are awarded. The value of the hand becomes one han with 22 fu (rounded up to 30 fu), with some other yaku available. The rule is called "pinfu–tsumo nashi" (平和自摸無し or 平和ツモなし, pinfu–tsumo invalid), sometimes contracted to "pinzumo nashi" (ピンヅモなし). If they can be combined, the rule is called "pinfu–tsumo ari" (平和自摸有り or 平和ツモあり, pinfu–tsumo valid).
One set of identical sequences	īpeikō – 一盃口	1	Closed hands only
One set of two sequences of the same numbers in the same suit.
Three colour straights	sanshoku doujun – 三色同順, or sanshoku – 三色	2 (1 if open)	Closed/Open
Three sequences of the same numbers in all three suits.
Straight	ikkitsuukan – 一気通貫, or ittsuu – 一通	2 (1 if open)	Closed/Open
A straight from number 1 through 9 of one suit, namely, three sequences of 1-2-3, 4-5-6 and 7-8-9.
Two sets of identical sequences	ryanpeikō – 二盃口	3	Closed hand only
Two independent sets of identical sequences. Some rules may not allow the two sets to be the same using four identical sequences. This yaku does not count seven pairs as the tiles are based on sequential melds and not pairs.

Yaku based on triplets and/or quads

When the following hands involve triplets, quads are also acceptable, while if they require quads, triplets do not count. Each yaku is worth two han, regardless of whether the hand is closed or open.

Name	Japanese	Han value	Closed/Open
All triplets	toitoihō – 対々和, or toitoi – 対々	2	Closed/open
The hand consists of all triplets or quads and no sequences. A hand can also be closed but can be won via a discard, but if the winning tile is a self-pick, the hand becomes Four concealed triplets and is awarded Yakuman instead.
Three concealed triplets	san'ankō – 三暗刻	2	Closed/open
Three sets of triplets or quads formed without calling on any tiles. The tiles for the three triplets or quads must all be self-drawn in order to count. The fourth set can be an open triplet or quad, or a sequence.
Three colour triplets	sanshoku doukō – 三色同刻	2	Closed/Open
Three triplets consisting of the same numbers in all three suits.
Three kans	sankantsu – 三槓子	2	Closed/Open
Three quads in one hand, which can be open or closed.

Yaku based on terminal or honor tiles

These hands involve terminals and/or honors, or lack thereof, such as tan'yao and yakuhai due to their simplicity.

Name	Japanese	Han value	Closed/Open
All simples	tan'yaochū – 断么九, or tan'yao – 断么	1	Closed/Open
Tan'yaochū literally means "no 1's or 9's". Only numbered tiles from 2 through 8 are used eliminating terminals or honors. If the hand is open, it is called "kuitan" (喰い断), which means tan'yao made by "eating" discards. As there are varieties of rules, this hand can be closed only. The rule that does not allow kuitan is called "kuitan nashi" (喰い断無し; no kuitan, or kuitan invalid).
Honor tiles	yakuhai – 役牌, or huanpai/fanpai – 飜牌	1 per each triples	Closed/Open
Any triplets or quads of dragons, the player's wind and the prevailing wind. If a wind is both the player's wind and the prevailing wind, it is worth two han per group.
Terminal or honor in each set	honchantai yaochū – 混全帯么九, or chanta – チャンタ	2 (1 if open)	Closed/Open
The sequences and triples in the hand must consist of 1's, 9's and honor tiles. The hand contains at least one sequence of 1-2-3 or 7-8-9.
Terminal in each set	junchantai yaochū – 純全帯么九, or junchan – 純チャン	3 (2 if open)	Closed/Open
The sequences and triples in the hand must consist of 1's and 9's, but no honors tiles The hand contains at least one sequence of 1-2-3 or 7-8-9. The jun in junchan literally means "pure."
All terminals and honors	honrōtō – 混老頭, or honrō – 混老	2 (4 †)	Closed/Open
(all triplets)
(seven pairs)
The hand consists of entirely terminals and honors. † The yaku separately counts the two han of an all triplet hand or seven pairs and therefore always has four han.
Little three dragons	shōsangen – 小三元	2 (4 †)	Closed/Open
Two triplets or quads of dragons, plus a pair of the third. † The hand consequently has four han since the two han for honor tiles from the two sets of dragons are added separately.

Yaku based on suits

The following two yaku are related to a single suit. They both lose one han when they are open.

Name	Japanese	Han value	Closed/Open
Half-flush	hon'īsō – 混一色, or hon'itsu – 混一	3 (2 if open)	Closed/Open
The hand contains tiles from one suit and honors. The honors can be two or more sets. The hand can be seven pairs.
Flush	chin'īsō – 清一色, or chin'itsu – 清一	6 (5 if open)	Closed/Open
All tiles in the hand are exclusively of one suit with no honor tiles.

Yakuman hands

"Yakuman" redirects here. For the video game, see Yakuman (video game).

There is a special set of hands so difficult to attain that they are worth the limit of points just for having them. The limit value, along with the hands themselves, are called yakuman (役満, or yaku-mangan 役満貫). All yakuman hands override all other han values, while some hands can themselves be combined to form multiple yakuman. Some conditions on the limit hands can render themselves double the value, or called daburu yakuman (ダブル役満).

Yaku can also be formed into a yakuman, otherwise known as kazoe-yakuman (数え役満), or counted yakuman, which consist of yaku hands and dora tiles that adds up to a minimum 13 han.

The thirteen orphans, four closed triplets and big three dragons are considered relatively easy to complete among yakuman hands and are collectively called "the three big families of yakuman" (Japanese: 役満御三家).

Some of yakuman hands may have respective names in some regions. The names used here mostly come from American publications, which are based on Chinese translations.

Name	Japanese	Value	Closed/Open
Thirteen orphans	kokushi musō/kokushi musō jūsanmen machi – 国士無双 / 国士無双13面待ち (13 wait)	Limit / Double limit (13 wait)	Closed hand only
Along with seven pairs (Chītoitsu), this is the second hand that contradicts the requirement for a hand to have four melds and a pair, which is formed by acquiring all the terminal and honor tiles of one kind, and a pair formed from one of any 13 tiles. In most rules, if a player wins in a 13-way wait for the pair, the hand value doubles. The Japanese name of the yaku, kokushi musō, means "a peerless distinguished person in a country." Other names for this yaku are shīsan yaochū (十三么九) which means "thirteen of smallest numbers and 9's [and honors]," or its abbreviation shīsan yao (十三么).
Four concealed triplets	sūankō – 四暗刻 / sūankō tankimachi - 四暗刻単騎待ち (single wait)	Limit / Double limit (single wait)	Closed hand only
A hand that has four closed triplets/quads. Only a tile drawn off the wall can be won via waiting for two pairs, but single-tile waiting (which doubles the value in most rules) for the pair can be won by either a self-drawn tile or from another player's discard.
Big three dragons	daisangen – 大三元	Limit	Closed/Open
A triplet or quad of each type of dragon tile.
Little four winds	shōsūshī – 小四喜	Limit	Closed/Open
A hand consisting of three triplets/quads of winds and a pair of the fourth wind.
Big four winds	daisūshī – 大四喜	Double limit	Closed/Open
A hand consisting of four triplets/quads of winds. It can be worth one or two yakuman in some rules. Little four winds (shōsūshī) and this yaku are kinds of shōsūshīhoō (四喜和).
All honors	tsūīsō – 字一色	Limit	Closed/Open
A hand composed exclusively of wind and dragon tiles.
All terminals	chinrōtō – 清老頭	Limit	Closed/Open
A hand containing only 1's and 9's (terminals).
All green	ryūīsō – 緑一色	Limit	Closed/Open
A hand containing only green tiles (2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 bamboo, and green dragon). Many of the Japanese sets exclusively color those tiles as green only (other bamboo tiles of 1, 5, 7, and 9 have red paint on them, thereby not making them all green). A green dragon pair/triplet is not necessarily required to complete a hand.
Nine gates	chūren pōtō – 九蓮宝燈 / junsei chūren pōtō - 純正九蓮宝燈 (nine wait)	Limit / Double limit (nine wait)	Closed hand only
A hand composed of 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 of one suit, plus any other tile of the same suit. In most rules, if the hand waits for all nine tiles (with the tiles sequence of 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9), the limit value is doubled. Regardless of the value of the extra tile, this is always a standard mahjong hand of four melds and a pair, as shown in the animation below.
Four kans	sūkantsu – 四槓子	Limit	Closed/Open
A hand consist of four quads, either closed or hands. Normally, a hand is declared drawn when four quads are called by multiple players, instead, the play continues until the player wins a hand or a fifth quad is called by another player.

Yakuman on opening hands

The following are yakuman hands completed on the first go-around.

Name	Japanese	Value	Closed/Open
Heavenly hand	tenhō – 天和	Limit	Closed hand only, dealer only
A hand is won by the dealer on the very first draw, regardless of its contents. Because the hand is closed and the winning tile is considered as a drawn tile, it fulfills the yaku criteria.
Hand of earth	chīhō – 地和	Limit	Closed hand only, non-dealer only
A hand is won by any non-dealer on the very first round of play, regardless of its contents, and without declaring any open-meld, including closed quads. Like Heavenly hand, Hand of earth fulfills the yaku criteria of a closed-hand self-drawn tile.
Hand of man	renhō – 人和	Limit	Closed only, non-dealer only
In general rules, the yaku is achieved if a non-dealer completes a hand with a discard before the first self-drawing when no one has declared open melds. Depending on rules, the hand needs or does not need other yaku, and its value can be counted as either yakuman, baiman or mangan. Some rules mention that players can win on other players' first discard and thus some players can go out after the first draw or that if the player wins on the dealer's first discard. The hand is sometimes optional.

Ancient or local yaku

The following table details yaku and yakuman hands that are usually not recognized as valid but may appear in house rules.

Name	Japanese	Value	Closed/Open
Three chained triplets	sanrenkō – 三連刻	2	Closed/Open
A hand with three number triplets or quads in one suit with successive numbers. This hand is a local rule and not an officially recognized rule for Japanese mahjong.
Four chained triplets	sūrenkō – 四連刻	Limit	Closed/Open
A hand with four number triplets or quads in one suit with successive numbers. This hand is a local rule and not an officially recognized rule for Japanese mahjong.
Chariot	Suit specific names (see below)	Limit	Closed only
A hand composed of 2-2-3-3-4-4-5-5-6-6-7-7-8-8 of one suit. This hand is a local rule and not an officially recognized rule for Japanese mahjong. Each of the numbered suits may also use special names for this hand: Pinzu (circles), daisharin – 大車輪 or big wheels Sōzu (bamboo), daichikurin – 大竹林 or bamboo forest Manzu (characters), daisūrin – 大数隣 or numerous neighbours
Big seven stars	daichisei – 大七星	Double limit	Closed hand only
This is the seven pair variation to all honors. which increments the yakuman value towards all honors. It is very unusual to play with rules that will allow it.
Thirteen unconnected tiles	shīsanpūtā / shīsanbudō - 十三不塔	Limit	Closed only
The hand contains thirteen tiles such that there are no pairs and no number tiles closer than three apart from one another, plus an additional one of any of the tiles in the hand. Can only be claimed by a player on their first draw.
Fourteen unconnected tiles	shīsūpūtā - 十四不塔	Limit	Closed only
The hand contains fourteen tiles so that there are no pairs and no number tiles closer than three apart from one another. Can only be claimed by a player on their first draw.
Eight consecutive wins	pārenchan – 八連荘	Limit	Dealer only
A player wins eight times consecutively. The conditions of the hand depend on rules, which can be triggered by achieving either the ninth consecutive win onwards, or per every eight wins. It has nothing to do with the number of counters because the number increases when a hand is a draw. In some rules, no other yaku is necessary in the eighth winning. Some say the player must be a dealer from the first time. The player is always a dealer when the hand is accomplished. The hand is often optional.

External links

• European Mahjong Association's Riichi Ruleset

See also

• Mahjong
• Japanese Mahjong scoring rules