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I would like to be as respectful of the language and culture of Mahjong. Being monolingual means I'm pretty limited, but I try to listen as closely as possible to pronunciations, and will continue to practice to get them correct.
This page is very much a work-in-progress. I update information when I find it.
Games, rounds, winds, hands.
Games, rounds, winds, hands.
We often refer to the wind of the round - which is where we start with East and move around to the other three dealers. Our goal at Brisbane Mahjong is to try to complete 4 'rounds' before the end of the night. (Note: As at December 2025, I have not yet been at a table that has achieved that).
Tainted Mantis (2023) refers to what we might call a 'round' a wind. For them a wind is a 'cycle of dealers'.
Pong, chow, kongs.
Pong, chow, kongs.
Pong/Pung
Is a 3-of-a-kind (of the same suit), a 'triplet,
Chow
These are tiles that are 3-in-a-row of the same suit, a sequence.
Mahjong Sparrow refers to a chow as an ascension (a great description). Brisbane Mahjong rules advise that when you want to pick up from the player on your left, you say Chi.
Some videos I've watched refer to a chow as a seung.
I'm watching a number of other videos, the word chow is pronounced not pronounced chow as in cow, but closer to chir as in 'sir'.
Kong
Is 4-of-a kind of the same suit or honour tiles.
Faan
Faan
Faan is "points". Some hands are 1 faan, 2 faan, etc.
More information to come ...
Prompt cards
Prompt cards
I've created a small set of flash cards to keep beside me when I'm playing. Mum and I are lucky to be able to play with other players for about 3 hours each week. My family and friends who can only play occasionally will benefit from flash cards that can help them maintain the mechanics of the game.
So far my cards include content on
game mechanics
the wind tokens
different types of hands and scoring.
Feel free to use these cards and give me feedback!
To access:
Click on the Google Slides link and you should be able to print them off.
Each card is smaller than a quarter of an A4 page, with 4 cards per page.
It goes without saying, these cards are a work-in-progress.
Any suggestions or feedback - I find a typo every time I look at it - please let me know.
Resources.
Resources.
Mahjong: The Art of the Game https://www.mahjonggtheartofthegame.com/ (Book - I don't have a copy, nor have I read it yet).
MahJong Time Website - Hong Kong Mahjong Rules https://www.mahjongtime.com/hong-kong-mahjong-rules.html
Page updated
Google Sites
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