also: ろうとうはい
terminals; suited tiles numbered 1 or 9
Mahjong term for the end tiles of each suit: 1 and 9 of characters, circles, and bamboo. Often used in discussions of yaku such as 混老頭 or 清老頭.
from Chinese lǎo tóu pái
Terminals are the 1 and 9 tiles of each suit.
To make a mixed terminals hand, collect only terminals and honor tiles.
中張牌 are the middle tiles (2 through 8) of each suit, in contrast to the terminal 老頭牌.
Standard kanji spelling for this mahjong term, derived from Chinese.
Japanese on'yomi reading; rarely used in practice compared to the katakana reading.
Borrowed from Chinese 老頭牌 (lǎo tóu pái), literally 'old head tiles', referring to the end tiles of a suit.