“Fan” is where the points come from — each scoring pattern multiplies your win. Exact values vary a lot by region, but the patterns themselves are nearly universal. Learn the ten most common and you can read what everyone else is building.
All ChowsPing Hu
All runs, no triplets, and a non-honor pair — the plainest winning shape.
All TripletsPeng Peng Hu
Four triplets (or kongs) and no runs.
Full FlushQing Yi Se
The entire hand in a single suit.
Half FlushHun Yi Se
One suit plus honor tiles.
Seven PairsQi Dui
Seven pairs wins outright — no melds needed.
All SimplesDuan Yao Jiu
No terminals (1s or 9s) and no honor tiles.
After a KongGang Shang Kai Hua
Win on the replacement tile drawn right after declaring a kong.
Robbing the KongQiang Gang Hu
Win on the tile another player uses to upgrade a pong into a kong.
Fully ConcealedMen Qing
No chows, pongs or kongs all game — everything drawn yourself.
Last TileHai Di Lao Yue
Win on the very last tile of the wall.
Reading what others are building
Exposed claims are the clue: two ponged honors point at All Triplets or Half Flush; nothing exposed all game means Fully Concealed or Seven Pairs; a wall of Bamboo is Full Flush. Once you read patterns, your goal upgrades from “just win” to “win bigger”.
One caution: scoring is always local — Chinese classical, regional variants, riichi and official competition rules all score differently. Asking “how do we count here?” before the first hand never costs anything.