Etymology The game was originally called ()meaning sparrowwhich is still used in several Chinese languages, mostly in the south, such as Cantonese and Hokkien. It is said that the clacking of tiles during shuffling resembles the chattering of sparrows. It has also been suggested that the name came from an evolution of an earlier card game called Madiao from which mahjong tiles were adapted. In Chinese, denotes a form of guerilla warfare tactics colloquially called 'sparrow warfare (tactics)'. Other languages, such as Sichuanese, Shanghainese and Standard Mandarin, now call the game (), which is a nasal erhua form of the original name. Its name is similar in other languages, except in Thai, where it is called (), a calque meaning "sparrow cards".
Etymology The game was originally called ()meaning sparrowwhich is still used in several Chinese languages, mostly in the south, such as Cantonese and Hokkien. It is said that the clacking of tiles during shuffling resembles the chattering of sparrows. It has also been suggested that the name came from an evolution of an earlier card game called Madiao from which mahjong tiles were adapted. In Chinese, denotes a form of guerilla warfare tactics colloquially called 'sparrow warfare (tactics)'. Other languages, such as Sichuanese, Shanghainese and Standard Mandarin, now call the game (), which is a nasal erhua form of the original name. Its name is similar in other languages, except in Thai, where it is called (), a calque meaning "sparrow cards".