Riichi Mahjong Yaku Guide
Last updated: 2026-08-20This encyclopedia covers riichi mahjong yaku and han-fu scoring. It does not apply to Chinese Official (Guobiao) or Sichuan mahjong scoring patterns.
In riichi mahjong, your hand must have yaku — at least one han from a scoring pattern. Without yaku, a complete shape still cannot win by ron (draw penalties and other exceptions aside). This site splits common hand-inherent yaku into standalone guides with verified examples, linked to Counting Han and Riichi Mahjong Rules.
What Is Yaku?
Riichi mahjong uses yaku-required wins: beyond the winning shape (four melds + pair, or special shapes like seven pairs), you must count valid yaku. Each yaku adds han; multiple yaku usually add (yakuman and double yakuman are separate).
Situational yaku (riichi, ippatsu, closed tsumo, haitei/haitei, chankan, rinshan, etc.) apply at the win moment and do not depend on hand structure. Hand-inherent yaku (tanyao, pinfu, yakuhai, etc.) depend on the final winning shape. Reading yaku is the foundation for counting han, fu, and payments.
From 1 Han to Yakuman
Common yaku range from 1 to 6 han; yakuman is the top tier. In competitive rules, no yaku means no win (effectively at least 1 han). Combined yaku add han — for example tanyao + pinfu = 2 han.
Five han or four han at 40 fu often reaches mangan (2000 base points). In play, check the Score Table first. Han values and stacking rules are in Counting Han.
Closed vs Open
Some yaku require a closed hand only: pinfu, iipeikou, chiitoitsu, etc. After melding, these drop, but tanyao, toitoi, sanshoku, and others can still apply.
Sanshoku, ittsu, and chanta lose one han when open (kuisagari). When reading yaku, check both whether yaku exists and whether the hand is closed or open.
Yaku Directory
This batch covers the hand-inherent yaku most often tested in training (each links to a full article):
- Tanyao — all tiles are 2–8 number tiles (1 han)
- Pinfu — closed four sequences, two-sided wait
- Iipeikou — two identical sequence pairs, closed only
- Yakuhai — dragons, round wind, seat wind
- Sanshoku — same-sequence runs in all three suits
- Ittsu — 123·456·789 in one suit
- Chiitoitsu — seven pairs, 25 fu
- Toitoi — four triplets plus pair
- Chanta — every group contains a terminal or honor
- Sanankou — three concealed triplets
Situational Yaku
Riichi, ippatsu, closed tsumo, haitei, houtei, chankan, rinshan, etc. are not separate articles here. Rules and examples are in the yaku and draw sections of Riichi Mahjong Rules.
Study Order
Build a yaku → scoring loop in this order:
- Read yaku — work through each article below with the tile examples
- Count han — Counting Han: stacking and mangan thresholds
- Count fu — Fu Calculation Basics: seven pairs at 25 fu, etc.
- Points — Scoring Basics and the score table, plus score training
Tanyao example
All tiles are 2–8 number tiles — tanyao (1 han). See Tanyao.
Pinfu (with tanyao) example
Closed four sequences, non-yakuhai pair, two-sided wait: pinfu + tanyao = 2 han. See Pinfu.