Mahjong Begins with Learning the Language, Not Just the Tiles — My First Visit Back to Mahjong Class One Month After Surgery — July 26, 2026 (Sunday) R8

Today, I returned to my mahjong class for the first time in about a month after breaking my left shoulder.

I fractured my shoulder on June 18 and underwent surgery on June 25. Since then, I had been dealing with pain, rehabilitation, and the side effects of medication, so I had to take a break from my Sunday mahjong class.

Today, I arrived after the class had already started because rehabilitation always makes me sleepy. My husband, who happened to be nearby for work, joined the table in my place, while I sat beside him and watched the game.

As I listened to the experienced players, I realized that what I needed to learn first was not the tiles themselves, but the language of mahjong.

Characters (Manzu), Circles (Pinzu), Bamboo (Souzu), and Honor Tiles.

Sequences (Shuntsu), Triplets (Koutsu), Melds (Mentsu), and the Pair (Jantou).

Then there were different waiting patterns: Ryanmen, Kanchan, Penchan, Shanpon, and Tanki.

The more I understood these words, the more I could follow the conversations around the table.

I also remembered something my instructor had told me when I first started learning:

"For beginners, it is often better to discard 1s and 9s early."

Today I finally learned that this idea is related to Tanyao, one of the basic winning hands in mahjong. Tanyao is a hand made without using 1s, 9s, or honor tiles, and it is one of the easiest yaku for beginners to learn.

I also reviewed the difference between Tsumo and Ron.

A Tsumo win means drawing the winning tile yourself.

A Ron win means winning with a tile discarded by another player.

Little by little, I am beginning to see that mahjong is not only about completing my own hand but also about watching what other players discard and trying not to let them win from my discarded tiles.

I still do not understand how yaku and scoring work.

But that is all right.

First, I will learn the names of the tiles, then the mahjong vocabulary, then the basic yaku. I believe the scoring system will make sense when the time comes.

Rehabilitation and mahjong have something in common.

Both require patience.

There is no need to rush.

Today was not a day about winning.

It was a day about understanding a little more than I did yesterday.

#Mahjong #MahjongBeginner #LifelongLearning #Rehabilitation #SeniorLife #BrainTraining #DailyJournal #OneStepAtATime