Reference
Mahjong Quiz: 20 Questions with Answers
Twenty questions in the order a real hand asks them: what to keep, what to discard, when to defend, and whether the hand is even legal.
At a glance
- Questions
- 20, in four groups
- Coverage
- Wait width, defence, rule checks, fan counting
- Format
- Answer hidden until you click, reasoning shown
- Best use
- Work through one group per session
How to use this quiz
The questions follow the order a real hand asks them: what to keep, what to discard, whether the hand is legal, and only then what it is worth. Answer each one before opening the explanation. If you get it right for the wrong reason, the explanation is still worth reading.
Group one: wait width
Hand: 456 characters, 567 circles, 789 bamboo, east pair, plus a north. What are you waiting on, and how many tiles?
Show the answer
The north, as a single pair wait — three tiles. The tempting answer is 3 or 6 characters, but that would require breaking the 456 run, and a broken run is not this hand's wait.
Hand: 45 characters, 89 bamboo, east pair, white pair, red pair. What shape is the wait?
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A double pair on east and white, four tiles in total. The red pair is idle and does not extend the wait.
Hand: 46 characters, 46 circles, east pair, plus one spare. You draw a 5 characters. What is the wait now?
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A combined wait: 5 circles as a closed wait (four tiles) and east as a pair wait (three tiles), seven in total. The 5 characters completed the run, so the shape improved.
Hand: 123 characters, 789 characters, east pair, spare tile. You are waiting on east. Is it worth breaking 123 to chase a two-sided wait?
Show the answer
Usually not. Breaking the run destroys a completed set for a chance at a wider wait. At a Chinese Official table, protecting a set usually matters more than widening by a few tiles.
Compare a two-sided wait on 45 with a pair wait on east. How many tiles does each win on?
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Eight against three before anything visible is subtracted. The two-sided wait is more than twice as wide, which is why it is the default target.
Hand: 22 characters, 33 circles, 44 bamboo, east pair, red single. Is this hand ready?
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No. Three half-pairs plus an isolated tile is not a wait. It needs one more pair to become a double pair, or one connecting tile per suit to build runs.
Group two: defence
Three copies of 7 bamboo are visible. How safe is a 4 bamboo discard?
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Reasonably safe but not certain. Three copies of 7 are visible, so a wait on 7 is nearly dead, and 4 is the suji partner of 7 against a 4-7 two-sided wait. It is still a losing discard against a closed 5 wait.
The player before you just discarded a south wind. What safety level is that tile for you?
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Level 0, the safest class of tile. It has been discarded by someone and not claimed, so it cannot complete that player's hand as it stands.
A fresh 5 characters, with no copies visible, against an opponent who looks ready. Should you discard it?
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No. A fresh middle tile is the most dangerous discard class. Find a level 0 or level 1 tile instead, even if it means breaking shape.
Does suji protect you against a closed wait?
Show the answer
No. Suji only rules out two-sided waits. A closed wait on 5, an edge wait, a double pair and a pair wait all ignore it completely.
All four copies of 6 characters are visible. How safe is a 3 characters discard?
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Not as safe as it looks. With every 6 visible, the closed waits on 5 and 7 are gone — but a 4-5 block can now only win on 3, so 3 gets more dangerous, not safer. The genuinely safe discard here is the 6 itself.
Your hand is ready and large. An opponent is also clearly ready. Attack or defend?
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Defend. Discard only level 0 and level 1 tiles. The difference between collecting and paying for comparable hands is usually a multiple, not a fraction.
Group three: rule checks
Chinese Official hand: east pung, white pung, red pair, 123 characters, 456 circles. Is it legal?
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No. Two honour pungs at 2 fan each plus a voided suit at 2 fan gives 6 fan, which is below the minimum of 8. It is also not little three dragons: that needs two dragon pungs plus a dragon pair, and this hand has one dragon pung with a dragon pair.
What separates little three dragons from big three dragons?
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Little three dragons is two dragon pungs plus a pair of the third dragon. Big three dragons is pungs of all three dragons. The pair becomes a pung and the little pattern upgrades to the big one.
British mahjong: how many chows per hand, and what does "limit 1000" mean?
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One chow per hand. Limit 1000 is a per-hand score cap agreed by the table, not the rating figure used in European tournament play.
Can an American Joker serve as the pair in a hand?
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No. A Joker may only substitute inside a group of three or more identical tiles. Pairs, single slots and runs must be genuine.
Sichuan hand ends in an exhaustive draw. What happens to a player who is not ready?
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They pay under the readiness check: the largest hand value on the table, doubled, paid to every player who was ready. Some tables add a separate penalty for holding all three suits.
Group four: counting fan
Hand: 111 characters, 999 characters, 111 circles, 999 circles, east pair. What does it score?
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32 fan as mixed terminals: every set is a terminal and the pair is an honour. All pungs is contained inside that pattern and is not added on top, which is the exclusivity rule in action.
Riichi closed hand: 123 characters, 456 circles, 789 bamboo, east pair, white pung. Riichi declared, the indicator shows north so east is a dora, and you hold one red five. How many han?
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Four han: riichi 1, white dragon pung 1, east dora 1, red five 1. Tanyao does not apply because the hand contains an honour. Below five han, so the hand pays by fu rather than as a mangan.
You have a two-sided wait worth eight tiles, but the hand scores two fan. Can you declare at a Chinese Official table?
Show the answer
No. Two fan is below the eight-fan minimum, so declaring would be a false win. Keep building, or accept the hand as a defensive one.
Quick answers
How many tiles does a two-sided wait win on?
Eight, before subtracting anything visible. Each of the two completing tiles has four copies in the set.
What is the most dangerous discard class?
A fresh middle tile from 4 to 6 with no copies visible. It fits the widest range of waits.
Do dora count as a yaku?
No. Dora adds han, but a hand still needs at least one yaku to be declared in riichi play.
Why do two patterns sometimes not add up?
Because some patterns contain others. All pungs is inside mixed terminals, for example, so only the larger value is scored.