The 10 Riichi yaku to learn first
Riichi Mahjong has 42 yaku, but a few of them do most of the work. In the period May 2026 – October 2026 we counted every yaku in 411,235 Riichi hands on Mahjongo. The ten below were the most frequent; together they make up 96.9% of all the yaku scored.
A hand needs at least one yaku to win, and dora do not count for that. Red fives (in 32.6% of hands), dora (28.3%) and ura dora (17.0%) add han to a hand that already has a yaku, but they cannot make it win on their own. That is why they are left out of this list even though they turn up often.
- #1Riichi立直Han: 152.0% · 1 in 2
Declare it when your closed hand is one tile away from winning. It costs a 1,000-point stick and locks your hand, but it gives every closed hand a yaku and a chance at ippatsu and ura dora.
Win after declaring Riichi. You may declare Riichi with a closed Tenpai hand (no chow, pung, or open kong), then discard a tile and place a 1,000-point Riichi stick. After that, you cannot change the hand. - #2Yakuhai翻牌・役牌Han: 129.1% · 1 in 3
A triplet of dragons, the round wind or your own seat wind. It is the usual way to have a yaku with an open hand, so pairs of these tiles are worth keeping early on.
Win with a triplet or quad(seat winds, prevailing winds, White, Green or Red Dragons) in your hand. (triplet: a group of three identical tiles; quad: a group of four identical tiles) - #3Ippatsu一発Han: 113.5% · 1 in 7
One extra han for winning within one turn around the table after declaring riichi, before anyone calls. You cannot plan for it; it comes with riichi.
Call Ron or Tsumo within an uninterrupted turn (no player calls Chow, Pung, or Kong) after declaring Riichi. - #4Fully Concealed Hand門前清自摸 · MenzenchintsumoHan: 112.5% · 1 in 8
Win on your own draw with a closed hand. Another reason not to call tiles when you do not need to.
Win on a self-drawn tile (Tsumo) with your closed hand (no Chow, Pung or Open Kong). A closed hand will still be closed after declaring a Concealed Quad. - #5Pinfu平和Han: 112.4% · 1 in 8
A closed hand of four sequences, a pair that is not a value tile, and a two-sided wait. Only 1 han, but it combines well with riichi and all simples.
Win with a closed hand containing four Sequences and a pair, and the winning tile completes a Sequence with a two-sided wait. The pair cannot be dragon tiles, player’s wind or round wind; numbered tiles or non-value wind tiles are allowed. - #6All Simples断幺九 · TanyaochuuHan: 111.1% · 1 in 9
Only tiles 2 to 8, with no terminals and no honors. Under the usual rules it also counts with an open hand, which makes it the quickest yaku to put together.
Win with no Terminal or Honor Tiles in your hand. - #7Seven Pairs七対子 · ChiitoitsuHan: 23.7% · 1 in 27
Seven different pairs. A good way out when your hand is full of pairs and has few sequences. Closed hands only.
Win with a closed hand containing seven different pairs. - #8Pure Double Sequence一盃口 · IipeekouHan: 12.9% · 1 in 35
Two identical sequences in the same suit, such as 2-3-4 twice. Closed hands only; it often comes together with pinfu.
Win with a closed hand containing two identical sequences. - #9Half Flush混一色 · HonitsuHan: 3 (2 open)1.5% · 1 in 66
One suit plus honor tiles. 3 han closed, 2 open. Opponents can see it coming, but it is a dependable way to raise the value of a hand.
Win with a hand containing Number Tiles in the same suit and Honor Tiles. - #10Mixed Triple Sequence三色同順 · SanshokudoujunHan: 2 (1 open)1.4% · 1 in 71
The same sequence in all three suits, such as 1-2-3 in characters, dots and bamboo. 2 han closed, 1 open.
Win with three sequences of the same numerical sequence, one in each of the three suits. - See the full Riichi yaku list
Where to go from here
If you are new, start with riichi, yakuhai and all simples: they are the three most common ways to give a hand its yaku, and one of them is often all you need to win. Pinfu and pure double sequence come naturally once your closed hand is built from sequences, and half flush is the first bigger hand worth aiming for.
You can try any hand in the Riichi score calculator to see its han and fu, and look up the other yaku in the Riichi yaku list. The numbers come from rooms against bots and include hands won by bots.