Waits & Tenpai

Wait

Also called: 待ち, machi, ting pai

The specific tile(s) that complete your tenpai hand.

A wait is any tile that would complete your hand from tenpai. Waits come in distinct shapes: pair wait (single, the pair tile), edge wait (penchan, the 3 or 7 to complete 1-2-3 or 7-8-9), closed wait (kanchan, the middle of a chow), two-sided wait (ryanmen, either side of an in-progress chow), and shanpon (one of two pung-completing tiles). The shape of your wait affects scoring in Riichi and MCR.

Related terms

Tenpai
One tile away from completing a winning hand.
Pair wait
Waiting on the pair tile — only one tile completes the hand.
Edge wait
Waiting on the 3 to complete 1-2-? or the 7 to complete ?-8-9.
Closed wait
Waiting on the middle tile of a chow — e.g. waiting on 4 to complete 3-?-5.