Tiles & Melds

Pung

Also called: Pong, 碰, 刻子, kotsu

A set of three identical tiles (e.g. 5p-5p-5p).

A pung is a meld of three identical tiles — same suit, same rank. Every mahjong variant recognizes pungs as a legal meld. You can form a pung from tiles drawn in your hand (concealed pung / 暗刻) or by calling 'pung!' on another player's discard (open pung / 明刻). In Sichuan mahjong, pungs and kongs are the only legal melds — chows are forbidden.

Related terms

Chow
A set of three consecutive tiles in the same suit (e.g. 4m-5m-6m).
Kong
A set of all four identical tiles (e.g. 7s-7s-7s-7s).
Meld
A group of tiles that counts as a single unit in your hand — pung, chow, or kong.
Pair
Two identical tiles. Every standard hand needs exactly one pair.