Riichi Mahjong Yaku List
A yaku is a scoring pattern — the recognized hand shapes and situations that make a win legal. Riichi mahjong has one iron rule: a winning hand must contain at least one yaku. Dora tiles add han but never satisfy the requirement on their own, which is why a hand full of bonus tiles can still be unplayable.
Below are the 37 standard yaku with their han values, the twelve yakuman included. Han is shown for a concealed hand; where open melds change the value, it says so. Each entry gives the Japanese name in kanji, since most clients and tables show them that way. If a term is unfamiliar, the fundamentals are in the riichi mahjong rules guide.
One-han yaku
The daily bread of the game. Most winning hands stack two or three of these together with dora.
| Yaku | Han | Open hand | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riichi 立直 | 1 | Menzen only | Declare ready on a concealed tenpai hand with a 1,000-point bet |
| Ippatsu 一発 | 1 | Menzen only | Win within one go-around of declaring riichi, with no calls in between |
| Menzen Tsumo 門前清自摸和 | 1 | Menzen only | Win by self-draw on a fully concealed hand |
| Tanyao 断幺九 | 1 | Allowed | All simplicity tiles: no terminals (1s and 9s) and no honors (open tanyao is banned at some tables — kuitan) |
| Yakuhai 役牌 | 1 | Allowed | A triplet of dragons, your seat wind, or the round wind |
| Pinfu 平和 | 1 | Menzen only | A quiet hand: all sequences on a two-sided wait, with no fu beyond the minimum |
| Iipeikou 一盃口 | 1 | Menzen only | Two identical sequences in one hand |
| Haitei Raoyue 海底撈月 | 1 | Allowed | Win by self-draw on the very last tile of the wall |
| Houtei Raoyui 河底撈魚 | 1 | Allowed | Win on the very last discard of the hand |
| Rinshan Kaihou 嶺上開花 | 1 | Allowed | Win on the replacement tile drawn after a kan |
| Chankan 搶槓 | 1 | Allowed | Ron a tile another player uses to extend a melded triplet into a kan |
Two-han yaku
Stronger patterns that often anchor a hand on their own. The han column shows the concealed value.
| Yaku | Han | Open hand | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chiitoitsu 七対子 | 2 | Menzen only | Seven distinct pairs — the only pair-based winning shape |
| Sanshoku Doujun 三色同順 | 2 (1 open) | Allowed | The same number sequence in all three suits |
| Ikkitsuukan 一気通貫 | 2 (1 open) | Allowed | A full 1-9 straight in one suit, built from three sequences |
| Chanta 混全帯幺九 | 2 (1 open) | Allowed | Every set and the pair contains a terminal or honor, with sequences included |
| Toitoi 対々和 | 2 | Allowed | Four triplets (or quads) and a pair — no sequences |
| Sanankou 三暗刻 | 2 | Allowed | Three concealed triplets |
| Sanshoku Doukou 三色同刻 | 2 | Allowed | The same number triplet in all three suits |
| Sankantsu 三槓子 | 2 | Allowed | Three kans in one hand |
| Shousangen 小三元 | 2 | Allowed | Two dragon triplets plus a pair of the third dragon |
| Honroutou 混老頭 | 2 | Allowed | Only terminals and honors, all in triplets or quads |
Three-han and six-han yaku
The single-suit specialists and their combinations. These are where a hand's value jumps a tier.
| Yaku | Han | Open hand | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junchan 純全帯幺九 | 3 (2 open) | Allowed | Like chanta, but terminals only — no honors |
| Honitsu 混一色 | 3 (2 open) | Allowed | One suit plus honor tiles |
| Ryanpeikou 二盃口 | 3 | Menzen only | Two separate iipeikou — four sequences in two pairs of twins |
| Chinitsu 清一色 | 6 (5 open) | Allowed | A single suit with no honors |
Yakuman
The ceiling of the game: twelve patterns worth a fixed 32,000 points on a non-dealer ron before any other count. Most rules double some of them for perfect forms, and a few tables add regional ones such as nagashi mangan or renhou.
| Yaku | Han | Open hand | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kokushi Musou 国士無双 | Yakuman | Menzen only | One of each of the 13 terminal and honor tiles plus a matching pair |
| Suuankou 四暗刻 | Yakuman | Menzen only | Four concealed triplets (a ron on a single wait counts as double in most rules) |
| Daisangen 大三元 | Yakuman | Allowed | All three dragon triplets |
| Shousuushi 小四喜 | Yakuman | Allowed | Three wind triplets plus a wind pair |
| Daisuushi 大四喜 | Yakuman | Allowed | All four wind triplets (double yakuman in many rules) |
| Tsuuiisou 字一色 | Yakuman | Allowed | Honor tiles only |
| Chinroutou 清老頭 | Yakuman | Allowed | Terminals only — 1s and 9s |
| Ryuuiisou 緑一色 | Yakuman | Allowed | Entirely green tiles: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 of bamboo and the green dragon |
| Chuuren Poutou 九蓮宝燈 | Yakuman | Menzen only | The 1112345678999 pattern in one suit, winning on any of its nine faces (the pure nine-sided wait counts as double in most rules) |
| Suukantsu 四槓子 | Yakuman | Allowed | Four kans in one hand |
| Tenhou 天和 | Yakuman | Menzen only | The dealer wins on the initial dealt hand itself |
| Chiihou 地和 | Yakuman | Menzen only | A non-dealer wins on their very first draw, before any call |
How han and fu turn into points
Every win is priced in two units. Han is the headline: one for each yaku, plus one per dora. Fu is the fine print — a small count (usually 20 to 70) reflecting shape and circumstances: triplets weigh more than runs, and certain waits or a self-draw win add a little. Base points are fu multiplied by two raised to the power of two plus han; from five han upward the formula hits the cap and the hand jumps to fixed prize tiers.
One worked example: a 30-fu, 4-han hand is 30 × 2⁶ = 1,920 base points, which rounds up to 2,000 — exactly mangan, 8,000 points on a non-dealer ron. Won by the dealer the same hand pays 12,000, and taken by self-draw it splits as 2,000 from each non-dealer plus 4,000 from the dealer.
The table gives the tiers. Dealer wins pay 1.5 times the listed ron value; on a self-draw the payment splits across all three opponents with the dealer paying double. Riichi sticks and honba bonuses sit on top and vary by table.
| Tier | Base points | Non-dealer ron | Dealer ron | Non-dealer tsumo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mangan (5 han) | 2,000 | 8,000 | 12,000 | 2,000 / 4,000 from dealer |
| Haneman (6–7 han) | 3,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 3,000 / 6,000 from dealer |
| Baiman (8–10 han) | 4,000 | 16,000 | 24,000 | 4,000 / 8,000 from dealer |
| Sanbaiman (11–12 han) | 6,000 | 24,000 | 36,000 | 6,000 / 12,000 from dealer |
| Yakuman | 8,000 | 32,000 | 48,000 | 8,000 / 16,000 from dealer |
Which yaku should beginners aim for?
Tanyao is the workhorse: a hand of nothing but 2s through 8s assembles itself, survives open calls at most tables, and stacks freely with riichi, pinfu and dora.
Yakuhai is the open-hand answer: a single triplet of dragons or a favorable wind makes any hand legal, and you can pon your way there.
Riichi turns almost any concealed tenpai into a winning hand — when in doubt on a concealed hand, the answer is usually riichi.
And the trap to avoid: hoarding honors and terminals builds hands with no yaku at all. If your hand drifts that way, commit to chanta or junchan early, or bail out to a safe tanyao shape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have another question? Let us know.
How many yaku are in riichi mahjong?
Thirty-seven are in standard use and all are listed above — eleven worth one han, ten worth two, four worth three or more, and twelve yakuman. Regional and optional patterns exist beyond these, but the thirty-seven cover virtually every hand you will ever see.
Can you win without a yaku?
No. A complete four-sets-and-a-pair hand with no scoring pattern is not a legal win, and dora tiles never substitute for a yaku — they only add han to a hand that already has one. The one widespread exception is nagashi mangan, a house rule paying mangan for a hand of terminals and honors safely discarded through an entire drawn hand.
What is the easiest yaku for beginners?
Tanyao — all simple tiles, no terminals or honors — and yakuhai — a triplet of dragons or favorable winds. Both can be completed with open calls, and either combines freely with riichi and dora for a cheap but respectable hand.
Learn them at the table
Reading the list is step one; watching a yakuhai pon arrive at the right moment is step two. Our table enforces every yaku and settles the points automatically.
Play Riichi MahjongHan values follow the standard Japanese rules used by most online clients. Individual tables may adjust specific patterns — most commonly open tanyao, red fives and local yakuman — and their settings always win.
