Hong Kong Mahjong Cheat Sheet (Printable, English and Chinese)

A two-sided reference card for beginner tables. Side one covers the tiles in Chinese and English, the calls (上 Chow, 碰 Pung, 槓 Kong, 食糊 win, 自摸 self-drawn) and the order of play. Side two lists the common Hong Kong hands with their faan, the 3-faan minimum, a 10-faan cap and a points ladder, so a table can keep score without playing for money. Print one per table, or save it as a PDF for the group chat.

No sign-up. One link for the club; every table logs its own game.

Why a bilingual sheet

Hong Kong mahjong is played in Cantonese. The tiles carry Chinese characters, and the words people call out at the table, like 碰 and 食糊, are Cantonese too. In Cantonese the game itself is 麻雀, which literally means "sparrow". New players at an English-speaking club pick the game up faster when they can match what is printed on a tile, and what an experienced player says, to an English word. That is all this sheet does: the Chinese and the English side by side, on paper, next to the tiles.

The values are the common Hong Kong ones from our scoring table and payout table. Some tables play slightly different values, so agree your house rules before you start.

The cheat sheet

Print the cheat sheet

Prints on two sides of A4 or US Letter, without the rest of this page. For a PDF, choose "Save as PDF" in the print dialog.

Hong Kong Mahjong Cheat Sheet 香港麻雀

Side 1 of 2 · Tiles and moves · mahjonglogbook.com

Tiles in Chinese and English 牌

144 tiles: 108 suit tiles (1 to 9 in three suits, four of each), 28 honour tiles 番子 (four of each wind and dragon) and 8 flowers 花.

筒 Dots, also called circles

索 Bamboo, also called sticks

萬 Characters. The top character is the number: 一 1, 二 2, 三 3, 四 4, 五 5, 六 6, 七 7, 八 8, 九 9

Winds 風: 東 East, 南 South, 西 West, 北 North

Dragons: 中 Red, 發 Green, 白 White (often a blank or framed tile)

Flowers 花: seasons 春夏秋冬 and 梅蘭菊竹 plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo

Flowers never stay in your hand. Lay a flower face up and draw a replacement 補花. A flower numbered for your seat (East 1, South 2, West 3, North 4) is your own flower 正花, worth 1 faan.

A winning hand: four sets plus a pair

A set is a run 順子 (three in a row in one suit), a pung 刻子 (three of a kind) or a kong 槓子 (four of a kind). The pair is 眼, "the eyes". Example, All Chows 平糊:

The calls

Call	English	What it means
上	Chow	Take a discard to finish a run, such as 4-5-6. Only from the player on your left.
碰	Pung	Take anyone's discard that matches a pair in your hand. Play carries on from the player on your right.
槓	Kong	Four of a kind. Lay it out and draw a replacement from the kong end 槓尾.
食糊	Win ("sik wu")	Say 食 and take the discard that completes your hand. The player who threw it has dealt in 出銃.
自摸	Self-drawn	Draw your own winning tile. Worth 1 extra faan, and all three other players pay.

Two calls on one tile: a win beats Pung or Kong, and Pung or Kong beats Chow. A discard can only be claimed straight away; once the next player draws, it is gone.

Turn order

The dealer 莊家 sits East, starts with 14 tiles and discards first; everyone else holds 13. Play then goes counterclockwise, East → South → West → North. On your turn: draw from the wall, replace any flower, discard one tile face up in front of you. If the dealer wins, they deal again 連莊; otherwise the deal passes to South.

Hands, faan and points 番數

Side 2 of 2 · 3-faan minimum, 10-faan cap · mahjonglogbook.com

Common hands

Hand	English	Faan
雞糊	Chicken hand: a win with no faan	0
平糊	All Chows: four runs plus a pair	1
對對糊	All Pungs: four pungs plus a pair	3
混一色	Half Flush: one suit plus honours	3
花么九	Mixed Terminals: only 1s, 9s and honours	4
小三元	Small Three Dragons: two dragon pungs, third dragon as the pair	5
小四喜	Small Four Winds: three wind pungs, fourth wind as the pair	6
清一色	Full Flush: one suit, no honours	7
大三元	Great Three Dragons: pungs of all three dragons	8
坎坎糊	All Concealed Pungs, won by self-draw	8
字一色	All Honours	10
清么九	All Terminals: only 1s and 9s	10
九蓮寶燈	Nine Gates: 1112345678999 in one suit plus one more	10
十三么	Thirteen Orphans: every 1, 9, wind and dragon, one doubled	Limit
大四喜	Great Four Winds: pungs of all four winds	Limit
十八羅漢	All Kongs: four kongs plus a pair	Limit
天糊	Heavenly hand: the dealer wins on the deal	Limit

Bonus faan (add these on)

Bonus	English	Faan
自摸	Self-drawn	1
門前清	Concealed hand: no calls	1
正花	Own flower, each	1
無花	No flowers	1
圈風／門風刻	Pung of the round or seat wind	1
中發白刻	Dragon pung, each	1
一台花	All four seasons or all four flowers	2

Rules of thumb

• 3-faan minimum 三番起糊: under 3 faan, you cannot win.
• 10-faan cap 滿糊: anything over 10 counts as 10. Limit hands pay the cap straight away.
• Add hand faan and bonus faan: Half Flush 3 + All Pungs 3 + Self-drawn 1 = 7.
• Full Flush already includes Half Flush. 小三元 and 大三元 already include their dragon pungs.

Points ladder

Faan	Discard win	Self-drawn, each pays
3	8	4
4	16	8
5	24	12
6	32	16
7	48	24
8	64	32
9	96	48
10 (cap)	128	64

Points, not money. On a discard win the discarder pays the whole amount. On a self-drawn win each of the other three pays half. The ladder follows the 二五雞 half-doubling 半辣上 steps.

Common Hong Kong values. Tables differ, so agree house rules first. Tile images: Cangjie6, Jerry Crimson Mann, Dewclouds, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Tile images: by Cangjie6 (remake), Jerry Crimson Mann (original), User:Dewclouds (vectorisation), own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

How to use it at a club night

• One sheet per beginners' table. Print side one and side two back to back and leave it flat by the wall where everyone can see it. A plastic sleeve stops it getting creased.
• Side one for the first night. New players only need the tiles, the calls and the turn order to start. Teach the shape (four sets plus a pair) and let scoring wait.
• Side two once people are winning hands. The hands table answers the question everyone asks after their first win: "how many faan is that?"
• Play for points. The points ladder lets a table keep the feel of Hong Kong scoring without any money on the table. Our guide to playing mahjong for points covers how clubs turn those points into a season.
• Agree house rules first. If your club plays a different cap, a different minimum or a different value for a hand, write it on the sheet in pen before you print copies.
• Mind the table manners. Beginners also need to know when to call and when to wait. The mahjong etiquette guide covers the unwritten rules.
• Keep the words handy. For any term not on the sheet, the Cantonese mahjong glossary has the Chinese, the English and a short explanation.

Running a new club? The how to start a mahjong club checklist covers sets, space, house rules and standings, and the mahjong club starter kit collects the printables in one place.

FAQ

More guides: the full Hong Kong mahjong scoring table, the payout table, how to play Hong Kong mahjong and the Cantonese mahjong glossary.