Daisuushii
By Kenji Tanaka · Updated
Definition
The big four winds: triplets or quads of East, South, West, and North in a single hand. A yakuman, double in many rule sets, and one of the rarest hands most players will ever see completed.
Daisuushii
Daisuushii (大四喜, だいすーしー) is one of the rarest yakuman hands, requiring triplets of all four wind tiles: East, South, West, and North. In most rule sets, it’s valued as a double yakuman, worth twice the standard yakuman payment (64,000 points for a non-dealer, 96,000 for the dealer). The name translates to “big four winds.”
How Daisuushii works
Requirements
To achieve daisuushii, you must have:
- Triplet of East: Three East wind tiles
- Triplet of South: Three South wind tiles
- Triplet of West: Three West wind tiles
- Triplet of North: Three North wind tiles
- Any pair: The pair can be any tile
All four melds must be wind triplets. The triplets can be open (pon) or concealed (ankou), double yakuman value remains regardless.
Double Yakuman Status
Most modern/online rules: Daisuushii is a double yakuman worth 16,000 base points (64,000 total for non-dealer, 96,000 for dealer).
Some traditional rules: Daisuushii is a single yakuman worth 8,000 base points (32,000 total for non-dealer, 48,000 for dealer).
The double yakuman status reflects the extreme difficulty, requiring 12 specific wind tiles (three each of four different winds) from a set containing only 16 total wind tiles.
Extreme Rarity
Daisuushii is legendarily rare:
- Tile requirements: Twelve of the 16 available wind tiles must come to you
- Opponent interference: After exposing two or three wind triplets, opponents completely stop discarding winds
- Statistical improbability: Even playing thousands of hands, most players never achieve daisuushii
Achieving daisuushii is considered a major mahjong milestone and often photographed or recorded when it occurs.
Comparison to Shousuushii
Shousuushii (little four winds): Three wind triplets + one wind pair → Single yakuman
Daisuushii (big four winds): Four wind triplets → Double yakuman
The difference is significant, shousuushii needs only a pair of the fourth wind (easier) while daisuushii requires a full triplet (much harder). This extra difficulty doubles the point value.
Strategic Considerations
Near-Impossible Without Calls: Self-drawing 12 wind tiles is virtually impossible. You must call pon aggressively on any wind discards.
Telegraph Immediately: Once you have two or three wind triplets exposed, your daisuushii intention is obvious. Opponents will hoard all remaining winds.
Yakuhai Foundation: Even incomplete daisuushii hands provide strong yakuhai value from multiple wind triplets matching seat/round winds.
Seeing Daisuushii in play
In an extremely lucky hand, you call pon on East, South, and West winds as they appear early in the game. You self-draw three North tiles, completing the fourth wind triplet. Your hand: East-East-East, South-South-South, West-West-West, North-North-North (four wind triplets), plus any pair. When you win, you declare daisuushii (double yakuman). Under double yakuman rules, you score 16,000 base points (64,000 total for non-dealer, 96,000 for dealer), the maximum possible non-dealer payment and devastating for opponents.
Related Terms
Yakuman
役満
A yakuman is a limit hand, the ceiling of the scoring ladder: a fixed 32,000 points (48,000 from the dealer), regardless of fu or dora. They come from a short list of extreme patterns (kokushi musou, suuankou, daisangen, the wind and honor hands) rather than accumulation, though 13 counted han reaches kazoe yakuman in most rules, and some patterns score double in their hardest forms. Spotting a live yakuman path early is one of the few good reasons to abandon normal efficiency.
Shousuushii
小四喜
The little four winds yakuman: triplets of three wind tiles plus a pair of the fourth, so all four winds appear in the hand. Its larger sibling daisuushii requires all four winds as full triplets.