Root (根)
Root — holding all four copies of one tile at the win (here four 1m: a pung plus the 1 in 123m). Each root adds 1 fan; declared kongs count too.
How Root (根) works
A root is holding all four copies of one tile at the moment you win — whether as a declared kong or spread through your concealed sets — and each root adds one fan.
Roots are counted after the hand is complete: every tile of which you hold all four copies is one root, worth +1 fan on top of the hand's other patterns. A declared kong is the obvious case, but four copies split across sets also count — for example a pung of 1s plus the 1 inside a 1-2-3 run. In seven-pairs hands the first four-of-a-kind is what upgrades the hand to Dragon Seven Pairs, so only additional quads beyond the first are counted as roots there.
- •Counted per tile type: two different four-of-a-kinds are two roots and add two fan.
- •Inside Dragon Seven Pairs the defining quad is not double-counted; each extra quad beyond it adds one root.
- •Because one suit is voided and there are no honors, roots always come from the two number suits you keep.
Root (根) — FAQ
Do the four tiles have to form a declared kong?
No. Holding all four copies anywhere in the completed hand counts — a kong, four in hand, or a pung plus the same tile inside a run.
Does the quad in Dragon Seven Pairs count as a root too?
Not the first one — that quad is the 'dragon' that defines the pattern. A second four-of-a-kind in the same seven-pairs hand does add a root.