(振聴) is the rule that stops you from winning on a discard. Three things put you in it. You've already discarded a winning tile, you let a winning discard pass, or you let one pass after declaring . In all three, you can still win by tsumo.
| Kind | What causes it | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Discard furiten | You already discarded a winning tile | Until your wait no longer includes that tile |
| Temporary furiten | You pass on a winning discard | Until your next turn |
| Riichi furiten | You pass on a winning discard after riichi | Until the hand ends |
What is furiten in mahjong?
You're tenpai, so one or more tiles complete your hand. Furiten means you can't call ron on any of them, from any player. A winning tile you draw yourself still wins. No rule counts you furiten on your own draw.
The rule looks at every winning tile, not only the one you're hoping for. That's where most furiten mistakes come from.
Discard furiten
If you discarded any of your winning tiles earlier in the hand, you're furiten. A tile another player called from your discards still counts, even though it's no longer in front of you. It also counts when that tile would give your hand no yaku. The Japanese name is 捨て牌フリテン.
This hand waits on 
, 
, and 
.
Say you threw a earlier in the hand. Now an opponent discards . You can't it. You can't ron a either. One winning tile in your discards blocks ron on all three. Draw any of the three yourself and you win.
Outside riichi you can get out. Change your hand until the new wait has none of your discards in it. After riichi you can't change the hand, so the furiten stays.
Temporary furiten
Pass on a winning discard and you can't ron until your next turn. That covers all of your winning tiles, from every player. It applies even when the tile you passed would give you no yaku. The Japanese name is 同巡内フリテン, furiten within the same go-around.
Take the same hand with none of its winning tiles in your discards. The player on your right throws , and you let it go. Before your turn comes back, the throws . You can't ron that either. Your next turn clears it.
Riichi furiten
Declare riichi, then pass on a winning discard, and you're furiten until the hand ends. Your hand is locked after riichi, so you can't change the wait to get out. Only tsumo can win from there.
You may also declare riichi while you're already in discard furiten. That's a furiten riichi, and it can only win by tsumo. The Tenhou game log review shows why a furiten riichi on a three-sided wait can still be worth it. The wait win rate tool shows furiten win rates from Houou logs next to the normal ones.
Check every wait before you discard
A hidden wait is the usual way into furiten. Look at this hand.
Read next to a pair of 5s and it waits on and . Read three 5s plus a lone 4 and wins too. If you discarded a earlier, you're furiten. You can't ron the or the .
Type a 13-tile hand into the hand analyzer and it lists every winning tile. Check that list against your discards before you count on a ron.
More on the words
The glossary entry has the one-line version. What tsumo, ron, and tenpai mean covers the terms this page leans on.
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