Pung
A pung is a set of three identical tiles, which jokers may fill and which can be completed by calling a discard.
Kong
A kong is a set of four identical tiles, fillable with jokers and completable by calling a discard.
Quint
A quint is a set of five identical tiles, which always requires at least one joker since only four of any natural tile exist.
Pair
A pair is two identical tiles, and it is the one set a joker can never be part of.
Charleston
The Charleston is the passing ritual before play in which each player passes three tiles right, across, and left, with an optional second round and a courtesy pass.
Blind pass
A blind pass is passing along tiles you received without looking at them, allowed only on the second and third passes of a Charleston.
Courtesy pass
The courtesy pass is an optional exchange of one to three tiles with the player across from you after the Charleston, agreed by both players.
Joker
A joker is a wild tile that can stand in for any tile inside a pung, kong, or quint, but never in a pair, never as a single tile, and never in a hand marked jokerless.
Joker exchange (also: redeeming a joker)
The joker exchange lets a player, on their own turn, swap the natural tile a joker represents for that joker in any exposed set on the table.
Jokerless
A jokerless hand is one completed without using any jokers, which many groups pay a bonus for and which some card lines require.
Calling
Calling is claiming the most recent discard, before the next player draws, to complete a pung, kong, quint, or your winning hand.
Exposure (also: exposed set)
An exposure is a completed set laid face up on top of your rack after calling a discard, visible to every player for the rest of the hand.
Concealed hand
A concealed hand is one the card requires to be completed entirely in your own rack, with no calling except for the final winning tile.
Dead hand
A dead hand is one that can no longer legally win, usually because of an exposure that matches no card line, an exposure on a concealed hand, or the wrong number of tiles.
Wall
The wall is the four rows of face-down tiles, nineteen long and two high per player, that all draws come from during a hand.
Wall game
A wall game is a hand that ends with no winner because the wall ran out, and in which no money changes hands.
East
East is the dealer position, which starts with fourteen tiles, discards first, and rotates to the right when East does not win.
Rack
A rack is the stand that holds a player's thirteen tiles upright and hidden, with exposed sets placed on top of it.
Soap (also: white dragon)
Soap is the white dragon tile, so called because its blank or framed face looks like a bar of soap, and it doubles as a zero on card lines that need one.
Craks (also: characters, wan)
Craks are the suit of tiles numbered one to nine that show a Chinese character for the number.
Bams (also: bamboo)
Bams are the suit of tiles numbered one to nine that show bamboo sticks, with the one bam usually drawn as a bird.
Dots (also: circles)
Dots are the suit of tiles numbered one to nine that show circles.
Flowers
Flowers are the eight decorative tiles in an American set, all interchangeable with each other, that certain card lines require as working tiles rather than bonuses.
Winds
The winds are the sixteen tiles marked north, east, west, and south, four of each, used as honor tiles in many card lines.
Dragons
The dragons are the twelve tiles in red, green, and white (soap), four of each, with each colour tied to one suit.
The card (also: NMJL card, Mah Jongg card)
The card is the annual sheet published by the National Mah Jongg League listing every hand that can win that year, reissued each April with new hands.
Mahjong (the call)
Declaring mahjong is announcing that your fourteen tiles exactly match a line on the current card, which ends the hand immediately.
Self-picked
A self-picked win is one where the winning tile was drawn from the wall rather than called from a discard, and it is typically paid double by everyone.
Direction (also: category)
A hand's direction is the category of card hands it is closest to building, such as consecutive numbers, like numbers, evens, or winds and dragons.
Open rack (also: training wheels)
Playing with an open rack means a beginner plays with their tiles visible so the table can help between decisions.