yaku
/ˈjɑː.kuː/
yaku noun: a condition that scores points when met, usually in the form of a specific combination of tiles or cards.
Noun
yaku (plural yaku or yakus)
- A condition that scores points when met, usually in the form of a specific combination of tiles or cards.
- There are certain combinations of hands called “Yaku,” which, if held by a player, either among his tricks or in his hand, entitle him to certain payments from the other players.1892, Rossetsu Uchiyama, The Game of "Hana-awase": Japanese Cards, page 10
- It's a lot of fun for me as I'm just getting to know all the combinations (of three cards each) for yaku, which means the other fellow must subtract 50 from his score.2006, Israel A. S. Yost, “On the Border” (chapter 11), in Combat Chaplain: The Personal Story of the WWII Chaplain of the Japanese American 100th Battalion, University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, page 215
Examples of yaku in a sentence
- Yakus determine whether you can make a mahjong.2012, Jelte Rep, “Chapter 5: Japan”, in Jelte Rep, transl., Great Mahjong Book: History, Lore, and Play, Tuttle Publishing, →ISBN, page 112:
- Of course, since the hand is open, it doesn't earn the 1-han yaku for a true Pinfu hand.2015, Scott D. Miller, “Hand Pattern Overview”, in Riichi Mahjong: The Ultimate Guide to the Japanese Game Taking the World by Storm...
- The wisteria ribbon is used in two yaku sets.2017, Jason Johnson & Antonietta Fazio-Johnson, “Matching Flowers” (chapter 5), in Hanafuda Games: Hanami Edition, IndianWolf Studios LLC...
- The particular hanafuda game they're playing here is called Koi-Koi, and Banba just called the name of the game to keep going for another yaku card combination beyond whatever yaku she already formed.2017, Akiko Higashimura, “Translation Notes”, in anonymous translator, Princess Jellyfish 6, Kodansha Comics, →ISBN, page 349:
Synonyms of yaku
Forms of yaku
| plural | yaku |
|---|---|
| plural | yakus |
Origin of yaku
Borrowed from Japanese 役 (yaku).
Questions about yaku
- What does yaku mean?
- Yaku means a condition that scores points when met, usually in the form of a specific combination of tiles or cards.
- How do you use yaku in a sentence?
- Yakus determine whether you can make a mahjong.
- What part of speech is yaku?
- Yaku is a noun.
- How do you pronounce yaku?
- Yaku is pronounced /ˈjɑː.kuː/.
- What is the plural of yaku?
- The plural of yaku is yaku.
Words near yaku in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: yaku (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “yaku.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/yaku. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.