In the last lesson you learned that every turn is draw one, discard one. But the liveliest part of mahjong is grabbing other players' discards. Call "chow", "pung" or "kong", and the tile is yours.
On this page
Chow: only from your left, only for a run
The player on your left is the one who plays just before you. If they discard a tile that completes a run with two tiles in your hand, you can call "chow".
Two limits: only from the player on your left, and only to make a run. You can't chow tiles from the other two players. After a chow you discard a tile, and play carries on to your right as usual.
Pung: from anyone
If you hold a pair, you can call "pung" on the third tile no matter who discards it.
After a pung you discard, and play continues with the player on your right. So a pung can skip players.
Kong: exposed, concealed and added
There are three kinds:
- Exposed kong: you hold three, someone discards the fourth, and you call kong.
- Concealed kong: you drew all four yourself. It's usually shown with two tiles face down, so everyone knows it's a kong without seeing all of it.
- Added kong: you already punged a tile and then draw the fourth yourself, so you add it on.
A kong counts as one set, so you draw a replacement tile from the wall, then discard.
Who gets the tile? Winning comes first
When several players want the same discard, it goes in this order:
- Win: anyone who can win on the tile comes first.
- Pung or kong: beats chow, even if it isn't that player's turn.
- Chow: only possible from the player on your left, and it comes last.
Say your left neighbor throws a 6 of dots. You want to chow it, but the player across wants to pung: they get it.
What gets exposed
Chows, pungs, exposed kongs and added kongs all go face up on the table. Everyone can see them, and you can't break them up later. A concealed kong is shown too, but since you drew it yourself, many styles still treat your hand as concealed.
Not every style lets you call freely:
- Sichuan mahjong has no chow: only pung and kong.
- American mahjong has no chow either: you can only call for groups of identical tiles, or to win.
- Japanese mahjong: once you call, you can't declare riichi, and some scoring patterns are no longer possible.
Should a beginner call?
A few simple rules of thumb:
- Punging honors is often worth it: a pung of Red, Green, White or your own wind usually scores.
- Chow when you're close: calling shrinks your hand and makes it less flexible. If you're far from winning, wait.
- A concealed hand has perks: Taiwanese mahjong pays a bonus for a fully concealed hand, and in Japanese mahjong you must be concealed to riichi.
We'll dig into when calling pays off in the intermediate mahjong lessons. For now, on to the next lesson: what it means to be ready to win.
Quick quiz
Whose discard can you chow?
Show the answer
The player on your left — You can only chow from the player on your left, and only to make a run.
Your left neighbor throws . You want to chow it and the player across wants to pung it. Who gets it?
Show the answer
The player across, because pung beats chow — Pung and kong beat chow, even if it isn't that player's turn.
You hold and draw yourself. What kind of kong is that?
Show the answer
Concealed kong — You drew all four yourself, so it's a concealed kong.
One player wants to pung a discard and another wants to win on it. Who gets it?
Show the answer
The player who wants to win — Winning always comes first.
Which style has no chow?
Show the answer
Sichuan — Sichuan mahjong allows pung and kong, but no chow.