1.
mahjong
A tile-based game of skill, strategy, and calculation that originated in China. The Japanese version uses 136 tiles and is typically played by four players who draw and discard tiles to form winning hands.
週末に友達と麻雀をした。
I played mahjong with friends on the weekend.
麻雀のルールを覚えるのは難しい。
Learning the rules of mahjong is difficult.
雀荘で麻雀を打った。
I played mahjong at a mahjong parlor.
ORTHOGRAPHY:
Commonly written as 麻雀 with katakana furigana or simply マージャン, though the kanji 麻雀 is also used.
COLLOCATIONS:
- 麻雀を打つ - to play mahjong (common verb)
- 麻雀をする - to play mahjong (general)
- 雀荘 - mahjong parlor
- 麻雀牌 - mahjong tiles
- 麻雀卓 - mahjong table
- 全自動麻雀卓 - automatic mahjong table
CULTURAL NOTES:
Mahjong is popular in Japan as a social game, with many specialized mahjong parlors (雀荘). The game is also popular in manga and anime. While gambling on mahjong is technically illegal, many people play for small stakes among friends.