What does shanten mean?

Shanten is how many useful draws you still need before tenpai. Zero means the hand is already tenpai and one more tile wins, while one means one more tile to reach tenpai. It is not a score.

How do standard, seven pairs, and kokushi combine?

All three are counted, and the smallest number wins. Counting only four melds and a pair marks a seven-pair or kokushi hand as farther than it is. No Honor and Two Suit cannot build kokushi, so that count is rarely the minimum.

Why is the answer a number?

The question is not which tile to cut or which tiles you wait on. It is only how many steps remain. The buttons are 0 through 6, and they have to match that minimum.

What do people usually get wrong?

Calling tenpai 1, or counting steps to a win instead of steps to tenpai. On Normal, forgetting honor pairs and triplets. Sticking to one win shape and never comparing the other two.

What should I practice next?

At shanten 0, use tenpai training to name the waits. At shanten 1, use one-shanten training to select ukeire. The counting method stays in the shanten article.

Shanten Training

Mode

After you start, copy the challenge link from Share above to have a friend answer this hand. How it works is on Friend Challenge.

Best

Score

Countdown

What this drill trains

Shanten training asks how many steps this 13-tile hand is from tenpai. You pick a number. Zero is already tenpai, and one is one-shanten. The answer is the minimum of the standard form, seven pairs, and kokushi. The length stays 13 tiles. You can switch Normal, No Honor, or Two Suit. There is no other length.

How to practice

Pick the tile pool first. Normal includes honors. No Honor is man, pin, and sou only. Two Suit is man and pin only. Then start.
Tap 0 through 6, or press that key, then submit. A hit moves on. A miss keeps the hand and shows the number.
Timed mode is 15 seconds. Each hit adds about ten points per second left. One miss ends the round.

How to read the answer

The answer is one number: the lowest shanten of the three win shapes. Tenpai is 0, not 1. The table and the counting method are in How to count shanten

FAQ

Want another drill?

Return to the training hub for every mode, the learning path, and short guides.

Open training hub

Daily Challenge

Five tenpai + five discard puzzles—same set worldwide today.

Play today's set

Related guides

Shanten

View all documentation