Go Terms

A glossary of Go terminology. The most basic ones are in bold.

A

• Aji (potential)
• Aji keshi (destroy own potential)
• Alive (status of group)
• Almost sente (in terms of follow-up)
• Amarigatachi (overstretched shape)
• Amashi
• Amateur
• Angle play
• Approach ko (yose-ko)
• Approach move (in capturing race)
• Atari (threat to capture at next move)
• Atekomi (aim inside diagonal)
• Thickness / Atsui (thick)
• Atsumi (thickness)
• Attachment (tsuke)
• Auction komi (way to set komi)
• Aya (similar to aji)

B

• Bad aji (malign possibilities in a position)
• Bad shape (failing formation)
• Baduk (Korean name for Go)
• Bamboo joint (takefu)
• Bang neki (Korean gambling format)
• Base (starter eye space)
• Big eye (in capturing race)
• Boshi (capping play)
• Bo-tsugi (bō-tsugi, pole connection)
• Belly attachment
• Bulge
• Bump (tsukiatari)
• Butterfly (enclosure)
• Byo yomi (extra time)

C

• Capturing race
• Chain (solidly connected stones)
• Checking extension (tsume)
• Chosei
• Chuban (middlegame)
• Clamp
• Compromised diagonal
• Connected
• Counter-atari
• Counter-pincer
• Crawl
• Cross-cut
• Current territory
• Cut
• Cutting point
• Cutting stones

D

• Dame (neutral point)
• Damezumari (shortage of liberties)
• Dan (expert rank)
• Dango (dumpling shape)
• De (push through)
• Death
• Degiri (push and cut)
• Deshi (pupil, follower)
• Direct connection
• Double hane
• Double ko
• Double sente
• Down
• Dragon

E

• Empty triangle
• Extending
• Eye

F

• False eye
• False seki
• Farmer's hat
• Flow of the stones
• Footsweep (knight's jump from fourth line to second to protect side)
• Force (kikashi)
• Force as a mathematical term
• Fujite (sealed move)
• Fukure (bulge shape)
• Furikawari (exchange)
• Fuseki (opening)

G

• Geta (net)
• Goban
• Gokaisho (Go club)
• Gote (go-teh) (no initiative)
• Go theory
• Go widow
• Group (string, chain)
• Group (strategic)
• Gukei (bad shape)
• Guzumi (good empty triangle)

H

• Haengma
• Hamete (joseki trap)
• Hanami-ko (one-sided ko)
• Hane (bend)
  • Hanedashi (hane inside)
  • Hane kaeshi
  • Hane tsugi
  • Hanekomi
• Hasami (pincer)
• Hazama tobi (hole jump)
• Hiki (draw back, pull back, or retreat)
• Hiraki (extension)
• Honte (simple, solid, sound play)
• Hoshi (star point)

I

• Ijime or bullying
• Ikken tobi (one-space jump)
• Indirect connection
• Influence
• Insei (apprentice)
• Invasion (uchikomi)
• Investment
• Ipponmichi (forced sequence)
• Ishi no shita (under the stones)

J

• Jaw
• Jigo (draw)
• Jitsuri (profit, territory)
• Joseki (established sequence)
• Josen
• Jubango

K

• Kadoban (game which if lost will lose series or increase handicap)
• Kakari (corner approach)
• Kakae (clutch)
• Kake
• Kaketsugi (hanging connection)
• Kakoi or surround
• Kami no itte (God's hand)
• Karai, hurting the opponent by taking solid territory
• Karui (light)
• Kata
• Katteyomi ("selfish reading")
• Katatsuki (shoulder hit)
• Katachi (shape)
• Keima (knight's move)
• Keimagakari
• Keshi (erasure)
• Kiai (fighting spirit)
• Kibitz (commentary)
  • Kibitzer (the one giving it)
• Kifu (game record)
• Kikasare
• Kikashi (forcing move)
• Kiri (cut)
• Ko (repetitive capture)
• Kogeima (small knight's move)
• Komi
• Komoku (3-4 point)
• Korigatachi (overconcentration)
• Kosumi (diagonal connection)
  • Kosumi-tsuke (diagonal attachment or kick)
• Kyuba (urgent point)

L

• Ladder
• Liberty ("breath")
• Life
• Locale
• Losing move (irretrievable mistake)

M

• Maeda Method
• Magari (turn)
• Mahn bang (Korean custom)
• Mane-go (mirror Go)
• Mannen-ko (ten-thousand-year ko, thousand-year ko)
• Me (eye)
  • Me-ari-me-nashi (one eye to none)
• Meijin (master)
• Miai (equivalence)
• Mirror Go (mane-go)
• Mobility
  • Mobility count
  • Mobility difference
• Mochikomi (lost stone or stones, gift)
• Moku
• Mokuhazushi (3-5 point)
• Motare
• Movement
• Moyo (sphere of influence)
• Muko (mukō, false ko threat)
• Myoshu (myōshu, brilliancy)

N

• Nakade (play inside an eye / shape that suffers from that)
• n-alive
• n-connection
• Neutral point (dame)
• Ni-ren-sei fuseki
• Nigiri (toss)
• Niken jimari (two-space enclosure)
• Nikentobi (two-space jump)
• Nobi (no-bee) (stretch)
• Non-cutting stones
• No result (cancelled game)
• Nose tesuji
• Notchers (life-and-death patterns)
• Nozoki (peep)
• n-territory
• Nurui (lukewarm play)

O

• Oba (large point)
• Ogeima (large knight's move)
• Oiotoshi (connect and die)
• Oki (placement)
• Okigo (handicap Go)
• Omoshiroi 面白い means "slightly better" (or more interesting for one side than the other), (term of praise)
• One-space jump (ikken tobi)
• Order of play
• Orthodox
• Osae (block)
• Oshi-tsubushi
• Overplay

P

• Parallel fuseki (opening)
• Passing
• Peep
• Pillbox (enclosure)
• Pincer (hasami)
• Point
• Ponnuki (capture of one stone)
• Positive
• Prisoners
• Professional
• Push

Q & R

• Quiet
• Quiescence
• Rank
• Reading

S

• Sabaki (manage weak stones, fancy footwork)
• Sagari (descent)
• Sangen-basami (three-space pincer)
• San-san (3-3 point)
• San-ren-sei fuseki
• Saru-suberi (monkey jump)
• Sashikomi
• Sector line
• Seiza
• Seki (stalemate)
• Semeai (capturing race)
• Semedori
• Sen-ai-sen (take black twice as often as white)
• Sensei (teacher)
• Sente (sen-teh) (initiative)
• Shape
• Shibori
• Shicho (ladder)
  • ShichoAtari (ladder breaker)
• ShidouGo (teaching game)
• Shimari (corner enclosure)
• Shinogi
• Shinte (new move)
• Shobute (do-or-die move)
• Shodan (1 dan, black belt)
• Shoulder hit (katatsuki)
• Shudan (hand talk)
• Souba (in-game commentary, a fair result)
• Squeeze
• Small move
• Snap-back
• Staircase
• Stretch
• String connection
• Suberi (slide)
• Suji (line of play, technique))
• Superko
• Suso? (skirt, base)
• Suso barai

T

• Tachi (stand up)
• Tagai-sen (komi replacer)
• Takamoku (4-5 point)
• Takefu (bamboo joint)
• Tasuki fuseki (diagonal opening)
• Tedokoro? (key point in a fight)
• Tedomari (last play)
• Teire (reinforcing play inside your territory at the end of the game)
• Tejun
• Tengen
• Tent
• Tenuki (teh-noo-key) (play elsewhere)
• Ten-thousand-year ko (mannen-ko, thousand-year ko)
• Territory
• Tesuji (teh-soo-djee) (skillful play)
• Tewari (changed-order-of-moves analysis)
• Thank-you move
• Thick cut protection
• Thickness (atsumi)
• Thick shapes
• Thousand-year ko (mannen-ko, ten-thousand-year ko)
• Three crows
• Three-stage ko (sandan-ko)
• Throw-in
• Tiger shape
• Tobi (jump)
• Transposition
• Triple ko
• Trumpet connection
• Tsugi (connection)
• Tsuke (ts'-keh) (attachment)
• Tsukiatari (bump, butting play)
• Tsumego (problem)
• Tsuru no sugomori (crane's nest)
• Two-eye formation
• Two-stage ko (nidan-ko)
• Two-step hane (nidanbane)

U & V

• Uchikomi (invasion)
• Unconditional life
• Up
• Vital point

W

• Wall
• Warikomi (wedge into one-point jump)
• Wariuchi (wedge)
• Watari (connect along the edge)
• Wedge
• Weiqi (Chinese name for Go)

Y & Z

• Yon-ren-sei fuseki
• Yose (endgame)
• Yose-ko (approach ko)
• Yosu-miru (probe)
• Yurumi shicho (loose ladder)
• Zoku-suji (vulgar play, crude move, anti-suji)

See also:

• Common Go Terms
• English Go Terms
• Chinese Go Terms
• Korean Go Terms
• Japanese Go Terms
• Norwegian Wordlist
• Japanese Go Terms / Discussion
• Japanese Go Terms / Overused and Underused
• Mathematical Ko Terms
• Anatomical terms
• Wildlife terms
• Mineral terms
• Apparel terms
• Geological terms
• Participle survey
• Terms in Dutch Go Magazine
• Esperanto terms
• Pronunciation of Go Terms
• Etymology of Go Terms
• Go Terms Used For Go Equipment.
• Haengma / Thumbnails
• Neologisms

For discussion of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and even English words or phrases used here, please also look at or create Language Discussions.

A Japanese/English translation page is available here (mostly in Japanese). If your browser supports it, you can see the Kanji for the terms, making it useful for attempting to study Japanese language Go books.

A very comprehensive glossary on the web is Mehmet Dardeniz's site in - Michael H.Lester's Go page.

The French Go club de Versailles has a very comprehensive list Japanese/French

Others (in English):

• British Go Journal - Glossary of Go Terms
• Jan van der Steen's Go Dictionary
• Korea Baduk Association - Baduk Terms
• Useful phrases in other languages

Useful resource (not related to Go):
Jeffrey's Japanese <-> English Dictionary Server ( canada mirror, usa mirror)

Japanese-Korean online dictionary (with links to English explanations) http://www.badukworld.co.kr/faq/terms1.htm