shanten

S1H4A1N1T1E1N1

noun

The minimum number of tiles a player must draw to form a winning hand.

“By drawing that tile, my hand's shanten decreased by one.”

OriginJapanese 向聴 →
Scrabble 10
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Meanings

nounshanten (uncountable)
  1. Japaneseuncountableboard gamesThe minimum number of tiles a player must draw to form a winning hand.

    By drawing that tile, my hand's shanten decreased by one.

Origin

  1. Japanese向聴
  2. Englishshanten

Borrowed from Japanese 向聴 (shanten).

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

shanten. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shanten

MLA

“shanten.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shanten. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shanten,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shanten.

Source: shanten on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.