Chinese Mahjong
Why Mahjong?
Mahjong is a fun game that originated in Qing dynasty and still loved by Chinese people.
Students must learn the meaning of the words and phrases used in Mahjong, which includes four directions(EWNS), dragon, prosper/rich, ten thousand, dots, bamboos, etc.
Students must be able to read out the cards in Chinese fluently, which includes a mastery of numbers, before they can play the cards. Students will also learn to write the traditional characters used in Mahjong, providing them a deeper understanding of character development.
Students must also be able to learn the rules of how to play and win the game, as well as the strategies of winning.
Students must be able to think fast when it comes to calculating, speaking, and grouping the cards swiftly and correctly in order to win.
Mahjong Rules
Chinese Mahjong Pieces 中国麻将牌
Step 1: recognize and pronounce all the vocab correctly.
東風 西风 南风 北风 龍 發 萬 条 筒 打牌 麻将
dōng fēng xī fēng nán fēng běi fēng lóng fā wàn tiáo tǒng dǎ pái má jiàng
Step 2: recognize all the cards and understand what they represent.
Teacher passes out all the cards and students say the name of the cards in Chinese.
Teacher shows students cards and asks individual students to answer the question.
Students quiz each other.
Step 3: Understand and memorize the rules of Mahjong
Step 4:
Extra rule--you can take the last discarded card right away if you already have two of the same cards, even if it's not your turn. This is called pèng. You have to lay out your set to show everyone if you made a triplet or a sequence with a discarded card.
Extra vocab in playing Mahjong
吃chī：to form a set of sequence顺子
碰pèng：to form a set of triplets刻子
杠gàng：to form a set of 4
要不要？
你打/出什么？
那你呢？
该你了/你来
快一点
Step 5: Students play open hand Mahjong under teacher's guidance.
Students should always call out the name of the card in Chinese whenever they make a discard.
笑话
一次，爸爸写了个“口”字问儿子：“这是个啥字?”
“白板。”
爸又写了个“东”字。
儿子说：“东风。”
爸爸气得打了他一巴掌。
儿子哭着用镜子一照说：“你怎么把‘五条’打到了我的脸上?”
