also: チュウチャンパイ
noun
minor tiles; inside tiles
In mahjong, refers to suited tiles numbered 2 through 8, excluding terminals (1 and 9) and honors. Also called 'inside tiles' because they are in the middle of the suit sequence.
from Chinese zhōng zhāng pái
中張牌だけで手を作るのは難しい。
It's difficult to build a hand using only minor tiles.
中張牌は端牌より安全牌になりやすい。
Minor tiles tend to be safer discards than terminal tiles.
From Chinese 中張牌 (zhōng zhāng pái), literally 'middle tile'.