mahjong tile
Refers to a single mahjong tile. Also used as a counter for tiles.
from Chinese pái
What tile is this?
I discarded a tile I didn't need.
He drew three tiles in one go.
I drew a tile from the wall.
I arranged the tiles in my hand neatly.
牌 refers to a single mahjong tile, while 麻雀 refers to the game of mahjong itself, so they are easily mixed up despite being closely related.
牌 (パイ) is a mahjong tile, a homophone of パイ 'pie' with a completely unrelated meaning.
tenpai; one tile away from winning
wall tiles; wall
having too many tiles in one's hand
honor tiles
safe tile (mahjong) · safe choice; no-risk option; easily handled person
identifying a tile by touch
suited tiles
shuffling of mahjong tiles · cleaning mahjong tiles
pai gow
paifang; Chinese memorial archway
Standard kanji spelling for mahjong tiles.
Katakana spelling is common in mahjong contexts.
Borrowed from Chinese 牌 (pái), meaning 'plate' or 'tablet', used in mahjong terminology.
dead wall