Riichi Mahjong Yaku

Closed only

Declared on a closed tenpai hand by discarding sideways and betting 1000 points. Locks the hand and unlocks a chance for ippatsu and uradora.

Closed only

Winning within one go-around after declaring riichi, before any call or kan interrupts the turn. Closed-only by virtue of requiring riichi, and one of the cheapest ways to add a free han to a riichi hand — it stacks freely with everything else riichi unlocks.

Closed only

Winning by self-draw on a fully closed hand (no calls). The default kicker on any closed tsumo win, which is why riichi + pinfu + tsumo is the canonical fast-cheap closed-attack template.

Closed only

A closed hand of all sequences, with a non-yakuhai pair and a two-sided (ryanmen) wait. Adds zero fu beyond the base — pinfu tsumo stays at 20 fu, pinfu ron rounds to 30. The high-frequency partner of riichi and tanyao in closed-attack templates.

Closed only

Two identical sequences (e.g. two 234m) in the same suit, in a closed hand. 1 han, closed-only — any call kills it outright. Replaced by ryanpeikou (3 han) when the hand contains two such pairs of identical sequences.

A hand containing no terminals (1s, 9s) and no honor tiles — only 2-8 of suits. 1 han, open or closed under modern kuitan rules; strict rulesets still require menzen. The workhorse open yaku, easy to lock in whenever the early hand is heavy on middle tiles.

A triplet (or kan) of any dragon, the round wind, or the player's seat wind. Each qualifying triplet scores 1 han, and a triplet that doubles as both round-and-seat wind (renpuuhai) scores 2 under most rulesets. The simplest open-friendly yaku in the game.

Winning by self-draw on the very last tile drawn from the wall. Companion to houtei (the equivalent last-discard ron). Always check waits before the final draw.

Winning by ron on the very last discard of the round. Companion to haitei (the equivalent last-tile self-draw). Easy to overlook — always recheck waits as the wall empties.

Winning on the replacement tile drawn after declaring a kan. Triggers off any kan — ankan, daiminkan or shouminkan — and stacks freely with most other yaku.

Closed only

Riichi declared on the very first uninterrupted turn — no calls have happened yet. Closed-only. 2 han instead of riichi's normal 1, with the ippatsu window starting the same turn so the bonus-han chance is the highest of any riichi variant.

Closed only

A closed hand of exactly seven distinct pairs. The seven pairs must all be different tiles — duplicates of the same pair count as one. Scores a flat 25 fu and pairs well with honor-heavy or mixed-suit hands that resist forming triplets.

The same numerical sequence in all three numbered suits (e.g., 234m / 234p / 234s). 2 han closed, 1 han open. Often paired with pinfu or tanyao, and structurally exclusive with ittsu — pick one or the other based on whether your early draws cluster vertically or spread horizontally.

Sequences 1-2-3, 4-5-6 and 7-8-9 all in a single suit. 2 han closed, 1 han open. The same-suit cousin to sanshoku-doujun — vertical inside one suit versus sanshoku's horizontal three-suit spread, and the two cannot coexist.

A hand made of four triplets (or kans) and a pair — no sequences. Often built from middle-game pon calls; pairs naturally with sanankou (three concealed triplets) and yakuhai for high-han open hands.

A hand containing three concealed (un-called) triplets, regardless of the remaining structure. 2 han, open or closed — the call rule applies to the other meld and the pair, not to the three concealed triplets. One more concealed triplet upgrades the hand to suuankou yakuman.

Every tile is a terminal (1 or 9) or honor. 2 han. Since terminals and honors cannot form sequences, the hand always pairs with toitoi or chiitoitsu — the resulting stack is typically 4 han or more before dora.

Two triplets and a pair of the three dragon tiles. 2 han for shousangen itself, plus 1 han for each dragon-triplet yakuhai — typically 4 han once the math settles. One pair short of daisangen yakuman, so a shousangen tenpai is always a yakuman threat.

Every meld and the pair contains at least one terminal or honor tile. 2 han closed, 1 han open. Sequences are restricted to 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 — the only ones containing a terminal. Junchan is the honor-free 3 han version.

A hand containing only one numbered suit plus honor tiles. 3 han closed, 2 han open. The workhorse high-value open yaku — combined with a yakuhai triplet it routinely clears mangan even after multiple calls.

Like chanta but contains no honors — every meld and the pair contains a terminal (1 or 9). 3 han closed, 2 han open. Higher value than chanta but brittle: a single honor tile anywhere in the shape downgrades the hand to chanta.

Closed only

A closed hand containing two separate pairs of identical sequences (two iipeiko shapes). 3 han, closed-only. Mathematically a chiitoitsu shape, so most rulesets do not let a hand score iipeiko twice instead — ryanpeikou simply replaces the would-be 2 han stack.

A hand made entirely of one numbered suit. 6 han closed, 5 han open — the highest non-yakuman han floor in the catalogue. Common when one suit floods your hand; stacks naturally with pinfu, iipeiko or ittsu inside the same suit.

Closed only

Yakuman. All thirteen unique terminal-and-honor tiles, one of which is paired. The 13-way wait shape is one of the most defensive shapes in the game, and kokushi is the only yaku that can ron an ankan in most rulesets (chankan kokushi).

Closed only

Yakuman. Four concealed triplets in a closed hand. The fourth triplet must complete by tsumo to keep all four concealed — a ron win with a shanpon wait counts the winning triplet as open and downgrades the result to san ankou + toitoi instead.

Yakuman. Triplets (or kans) of all three dragon tiles — white, green and red. Often grown from a shousangen tenpai by upgrading the dragon pair into the third triplet. Open-friendly: most rulesets pay full yakuman regardless of calls.

Yakuman. A hand composed entirely of honor tiles — winds and dragons only. Often built around a chiitoitsu shape because honors form pairs more easily than triplets. Stacks with honroutou and (sometimes) shousangen for double yakuman in stricter rulesets.

Closed only

Yakuman. A closed flush of the form 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 in a single suit, plus any one of 1-9 of that suit. Mathematically a chinitsu by construction. The 9-way wait (junsei chuuren) pays double yakuman in stricter rulesets.