also: マンズ · ワンツ
noun
character tiles; man tiles
In mahjong, the suit of tiles numbered 1 to 9, marked with the character 万 (ten thousand). Often called 'manzu' or 'wanzu' in English mahjong terminology.
from Chinese wàn zi
ワンズの一から九までを集めると役になる。
Collecting the character tiles from 1 to 9 forms a yaku.
彼はワンズの待ちでリーチをかけた。
He declared riichi with a wait on a character tile.
Traditional kanji spelling using 萬 instead of 万; very rare.
From Chinese 万子 (wàn zi), literally 'ten thousand child/tile', referring to the character suit in mahjong. The reading ワンズ reflects the Chinese-derived pronunciation, while マンズ is a Japanese approximation.