American Mahjong Glossary: Card, Charleston, Soap, and Pie

American Mahjong has a dialect. If you learned Chinese or Japanese terms first, the same tile can mean a different job. This is the short list you need for an NMJL table in the United States.

The game

• Card / NMJL card: this year’s legal hands, printed by the National Mah Jongg League.
• Charleston: the opening three-tile passes. Jokers never pass.
• Courtesy pass: optional extra pass across after the first Charleston.
• Soap: White Dragon, not a blank and not a joker.
• Pie: a shared pot some tables play for.

The tiles and sets

• Bams, Craks, Dots: the three suits.
• Pung, kong, quint: three, four, and five of a kind.
• Joker: wild inside those sets, not in a pair or single unless the card says so.
• Blank: replacement tile. Usually not in play.
• Exposure: tiles turned toward the table after a call.

If someone says chow or riichi, you have sat at a different game. Smile, finish the tea, and find the card table next time.

• What the game is →
• How to play →