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Chinese chess pieces, mahjong and board games

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The chess pieces

  1. shuài帅

    (Chinese chess) king (red side)

  2. jiàng将

    general; commander

  3. shì士

    guard (in Chinese chess)

  4. xiàng象

    elephant

  5. xiàng相

    prime minister

  6. jū车

    chariot (piece in Chinese chess)

  7. mǎ马

    horse

  8. pào炮

    cannon; artillery gun

  9. bīng兵

    pawn (in Chinese chess)

  10. zú卒

    pawn (in Chinese chess)

Playing chess

  1. xiàng象qí棋

    Chinese chess

  2. xià下qí棋

    to play chess or go

  3. qí棋pán盘

    chessboard; board for a board game

  4. qí棋zǐ子

    chess piece

  5. chǔ楚hé河hàn汉jiè界

    the river border on a Chinese chessboard

  6. jiāng将jūn军

    to check (in Chinese chess)

  7. kāi开jú局

    opening; start (of a game or period)

  8. cán残jú局

    endgame (in chess)

  9. hé和qí棋

    draw (in chess)

  10. rèn认shū输

    to admit defeat; to give up

  11. qí棋shǒu手

    chess player; go player

  12. duì对shǒu手

    opponent; rival

  13. yíng赢

    to win; to beat

  14. shū输

    to lose; to be defeated

  15. píng平jú局

    draw; tie (in a game)

Mahjong

  1. má麻jiàng将

    mahjong

  2. má麻jiàng将pái牌

    mahjong tile

  3. pèng碰

    (mahjong) pung

  4. hú和

    to win a hand (in mahjong)

  5. tīng听pái牌

    to be one tile away from winning (in mahjong)

  6. zì自mō摸

    self-drawn winning tile (in mahjong)

  7. zhuāng庄jiā家

    dealer; banker (in gambling)

  8. xǐ洗pái牌

    to shuffle cards

  9. dōng东fēng风

    east wind; spring breeze

  10. nán南fēng风

    south wind

  11. xī西fēng风

    west wind

  12. běi北fēng风

    north wind

  13. bái白bǎn板

    white dragon (mahjong tile)

Other games

  1. guó国jì际xiàng象qí棋

    chess

  2. wéi围qí棋

    go (board game); weiqi

  3. wǔ五zǐ子qí棋

    gomoku; five in a row

  4. tiào跳qí棋

    Chinese checkers; checkers

  5. jūn军qí棋

    army chess (Chinese board game)

  6. dòu斗dì地zhǔ主

    Dou Dizhu ("fight the landlord", a popular card game)

  7. pū扑kè克

    poker; playing cards

  8. zhǐ纸pái牌

    playing cards; card game

  9. tóu骰zi子

    dice; die

  10. zhuō桌yóu游

    board game; tabletop game

What are the Chinese chess pieces called?

Each side has the same seven pieces. Red writes them 帅, 仕, 相, 车, 马, 炮, 兵 and Black 将, 士, 象, 车, 马, 炮, 卒, so the king, guard, elephant and soldier have a different character on each side; some sets also give Red 俥 and 傌 and Black 砲. 帅 (shuài, king) and 将 (jiàng, general) are the two kings.

Why is 车 read jū in Chinese chess?

车 (jū, chariot). Everywhere else 车 is chē, a car, but the chess piece keeps the old reading for a war chariot.

What is the river in the middle of the board?

楚河汉界 (chǔhéhànjiè, the river border on a Chinese chessboard): the Chu River and the Han border, after the war between the states of Chu and Han that ended in 202 BC.

What do 碰 and 和 mean in mahjong?

碰 (pèng, pung) is taking a discarded tile to make three of a kind, and 和 (hú, to win a hand) is winning the hand; win on a tile you drew yourself and it is 自摸 (zìmō, self-drawn winning tile).

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