WIN-J · RIICHI MAHJONG
Riichi mahjong beginner and yaku guide
Learn four-player riichi rules and search 15 common yaku. Explore tiles, calls, dora and furiten, then select a hand in the linked calculator for automatic yaku, fu and points.
Standard winning shape
A standard hand has four groups and one pair. Groups are sequences, triplets or quads. Seven pairs and thirteen orphans use different shapes.
Learn 15 commonly encountered yaku. This is an introduction rather than a complete yaku list or an automatic hand checker. Confirm the rules used at your table.
Explore 15 common yaku
No yaku match your search.
Riichi
立直
Declare riichi with a closed, ready hand and then win.
Follow declaration and hand-change restrictions. Double riichi is outside this card.
Concealed self-draw
門前清自摸和
Win by self-draw while the hand remains closed.
An open-hand tsumo does not receive this han. A concealed kan keeps the hand closed.
All simples
断么九
Use only numbered tiles from 2 through 8, with no terminals or honours.
The open value assumes open tanyao is allowed. Confirm that table option first.
Value honours
役牌
Make a triplet or quad of dragons, your seat wind or the round wind.
Each qualifying condition gives one han. A wind group matching both seat and round normally gives two; the displayed value is per condition.
Pinfu
平和
A closed hand of four sequences, a non-value pair and a two-sided winning wait.
Check the winning tile and wait, not just the finished groups. Pinfu tsumo is 20 fu; closed ron is 30 fu.
Pure double sequence
一盃口
A closed hand with two identical sequences in the same suit.
For example, two 123 sequences in one suit. The yaku is not available when open.
Seven pairs
七対子
Make seven pairs of seven different tile types.
Four identical tiles cannot count as two pairs. Fu stays at 25 without additions or rounding.
All triplets
対々和
Make all four groups triplets or quads, plus a pair.
A sequence prevents this yaku. Count concealed triplets separately when considering other yaku.
Mixed triple sequence
三色同順
Make the same numbered sequence in characters, circles and bamboo.
For example, 456 in each numbered suit. Opening the hand reduces the value to one han.
Pure straight
一気通貫
Make 123, 456 and 789 as three sequences in one suit.
Merely holding tiles 1–9 is insufficient; they must form those sequences. Open value is one han.
Half flush
混一色
Use one numbered suit together with honours.
Both numbered tiles and honours must be present. With no honours, check the full-flush condition instead.
Full flush
清一色
Use a single numbered suit with no honours.
The hand must still have a valid winning shape. Open value is five han.
Thirteen orphans
国士無双
Collect all six suited terminals and all seven honours, plus one duplicate among them.
A closed special shape. Whether a thirteen-sided wait counts double depends on the table.
Four concealed triplets
四暗刻
Complete four concealed triplets or quads and a pair.
A triplet completed by ron is not concealed, so a ron win must complete the pair. A double value for a pair wait is table-dependent.
Big three dragons
大三元
Make a triplet or quad of White, Green and Red dragons.
Allowed closed or open. Liability payments, when applicable, are outside this calculator's automatic payment model.
Riichi essentials
Four players and 34 tile types
Characters, circles and bamboo each run from 1 to 9. Honours are East, South, West, North, White, Green and Red. Four copies of each type make a 136-tile set. This is a four-player game, distinct from tile-matching mahjong solitaire.
Draw one, then discard one
A player normally holds 13 tiles, draws one and discards one unless winning. The dealer begins with 14 and discards first. Turns pass from East to South, West and North; calls such as chii, pon and kan can interrupt that order.
Build four groups and one pair
A sequence is three consecutive tiles in one numbered suit; a triplet is three identical tiles; a quad is four identical tiles. A standard winning shape has four groups and a pair. Quads require replacement tiles, so the physical tile count increases. Seven distinct pairs and thirteen orphans are special shapes.
Know whether the hand is closed or open
Calling chii, pon or an open kan exposes a group and opens the hand. A concealed kan keeps the hand closed. Taking the final winning tile by ron also leaves the hand closed for closed-hand yaku. Some yaku require a closed hand; others lose han when open.
A complete shape still needs a yaku
A normal win requires at least one yaku. Keep han from riichi, concealed self-draw or value honours separate from bonus han. Dora increase the score but are not a yaku, so dora alone cannot allow a win. Check the table's conditions before counting ura dora.
Distinguish ron, tsumo and the dealer
Ron wins on another player's discard; tsumo wins on your own draw. East is the current dealer. The discarder pays a ron win. For a dealer tsumo, all three opponents pay equally; for a non-dealer tsumo, the dealer pays more. Round each payment up separately to the next hundred.
Furiten prevents ron
If one of your current winning waits appears in your own discards, you cannot ron on any tile in that wait. Passing a completing tile can cause temporary furiten, normally until your next turn; confirm your rules for when a draw or call clears it. Passing after riichi restricts ron for the rest of the hand. Tsumo can still be possible. Exact rulings need the waits, discards, calls and timing.
Separate hand value, counters and deposits
Yaku and dora provide han. Groups, the pair, wait and win method affect fu. Normally round total fu up to a multiple of ten; seven pairs is fixed at 25 and pinfu tsumo uses 20. Each honba adds 300 to ron or 100 from each tsumo payer. Each deposited riichi stick adds 1000 separately. Tile-selection mode performs this calculation automatically; established han and fu can also be converted in manual mode.
Key terms
- Riichi
- A one-han declaration made with a closed, ready hand, subject to declaration and later-hand restrictions.
- Tenpai
- A hand needing one more tile for a complete shape. Being ready alone does not guarantee a yaku or a legal win.
- Closed / menzen
- A hand not opened by chii, pon or an open kan. A concealed kan keeps it closed.
- Open / furo
- Exposing a group using a called tile. Some yaku disappear or lose han.
- Yaku
- A scoring condition allowing a normal win. At least one is needed in addition to a complete shape.
- Han
- Value from yaku and dora. Automatic mode counts them separately; manual mode takes separate yaku and bonus inputs.
- Fu
- Minipoints from structure, wait and win method. Tile selection counts them automatically; manual mode takes the final established value.
- Dora
- Bonus tiles that add han. Dora do not independently qualify as a yaku.
- Ron
- A win using another player's discard. Furiten prevents ron.
- Tsumo
- Drawing a tile, or declaring a win using your own drawn tile.
- Honba
- A continuation counter that adds to the opponents' payments when a hand is won.
- Riichi pot
- Deposited riichi sticks collected by the winner, without charging opponents for them again.
How to use
- Read the tile and winning-shape basics to distinguish sequences, triplets and pairs.
- Start with common yaku such as riichi, concealed self-draw and value honours.
- Search names, Japanese names or descriptions, or filter closed-only, open-allowed and yakuman entries.
- In the score calculator, select concealed tiles, a separate winning tile, melds and indicators, then set the context to analyse yaku, fu and points.
Example
The calculator's closed-hand example detects riichi and pinfu. One dora makes 3 han 30 fu. Its seven-pairs example also shows automatic recognition of the fixed 25-fu shape.
Method and limits
This introduction presents 15 selected yaku for four-player Japanese riichi. The linked calculator analyses selected tiles and context for standard hands, seven pairs, thirteen orphans and other supported patterns. These 15 cards are not its complete supported-yaku list. Complete discard, call and declaration history is not entered, so confirm furiten, riichi timing and ippatsu yourself. Check table options for open tanyao, double yakuman and kiriage. A card's yakuman value of 1 means one yakuman, not one han.
Frequently asked questions
Do four groups and a pair always allow a win?
A normal win also needs a yaku. Automatic calculation checks the entered shape and yaku, but you must set furiten from the actual history for ron. Seven pairs and thirteen orphans use special shapes.
Can dora alone make a winning hand?
No. Dora are bonuses rather than yaku. Automatic calculation also rejects a complete hand with bonuses but no qualifying yaku.
Are these 15 yaku the calculator's complete list?
No. The cards are introductory choices. The calculator also analyses supported patterns such as double riichi, ippatsu, three concealed triplets and nine gates from the tiles and selected context.
Are furiten and riichi declaration timing fully automatic?
No complete discard or call history is entered. Confirm actual furiten, legal riichi timing and ippatsu eligibility yourself, then reflect them in the context settings.
Can this be used unchanged for Chinese or three-player mahjong?
Both tools use four-player Japanese riichi. Chinese scoring systems and three-player payment rules are not applied.