Go Club Zürich

2026-07-23

Go Vocabulary

A list of words that you will encounter in lectures, books and conversations about go.

It is not necessary to memorize them. Most of them come up often and you will experience them first hand in your games. So you will inevitably get familiar with them. But it might be useful to have a list as a point of reference for players new to the game.

Some words are used to signify a particular concept that you have to understand in order get stronger, like Aji or Suji.

Where sensible the English word is given. For some terms the Japanese word has been established as a kind of standard, mostly because it’s easy to say or because there is no good translation available.

The words are loosely grouped by context. It might prove necessary to put them in a different order at a later time.

Sente and Gote

A move that requires an answer is ‘Sente, a move that doesn’t is ‘Gote’.

Tenuki

«Pull the hand away». To not answer a move (it becomes ‘Gote’) locally, but play elsewhere.

Kikashi

Absolute Sente. A move that has to be answered locally. Results in Korigatachi. Mostly played in order to force enemy stones into bad shape e.g. make a Pirate Hat out of a Tiger’s Mouth.

Fuseki

The Opening. The mostly empty board gets divided up roughly. There are many ways to do so (mostly for black), that have names: The Chinese Opening, the San-Ren-Sei, the Kobayashi Opening etc.

Middle Game

When no large opening moves are left and a strategy has to be devised in order to get gain points or reduce the opponent’s territory.

Late Middle Game

Only tactical maneuvers are left, heavy fighting takes place, reading is required. Most games are won or lost during this stage.

Endgame

Japanese ‘Yose’. When there are no unsettled stones left that can be attacked. The moves are played according to their value in descending order.

Aji

‘Taste’. Refers to an unsettled situation and means potential for future play. Can be «good» or «bad».

Heavy

Stones that are too valuable to easily sacrifice. Good target for attack.

Light

Stones that can be sacrificed easily.

Thickness

Strong stones that are hard to attack.

Thinness

Stones that are not well connected and might get cut.

Efficiency

The main criteria when evaluating moves or the value of a given position. See Suji, Shape, Clump.

Shape

Japanese ‘Katachi’. A position that is (in most cases) resilient. Often there is a specific name, e.g. Bamboo, Tiger Mouth etc.

Good Shape

A position that is very resilient. Stones that work well together.

Bad Shape

An inefficient shape that is hard to defend, that has defects that can be exploited, that results in a disadvantage.

Clump

Japanese ‘Dango’ (sticky sweet rice dough). Stones that touch each others (mostly an empty triangle with additional stones).

Vulgar play

In most cases means bad Suji. Moves that result in a disadvantage, that remove potential for Tesuji.

Jōseki

An established way of playing a given situation (often in a corner, sometimes on the side), that results in a fifty-fifty exchange. Many Jōseki have been re-evaluated or even made obsolete by AI.

Korigatachi

A situation that has been played out. Often, this has to be prevented in order to keep potential (Aji) for an attack, invasion or at least for Kō Threats or to prevent Damezumari.

Dame

Means liberty or neutral point, depending on context.

Damezumari

Shortage of liberties. To be avoided at all cost. Often the result of bad Suji (i.e. vulgar play), bad Shape or Korigatachi.

Suji

The way stones interact with each other in a given context, i.e. how they arrange, how they connect or cut and how they get into a given shape. There is Good Suji and Bad Suji. Good Suji leads to Tesuji. Bad Suji leads to Bad Shape, inefficiency and loses potential for Tesujij.

Note: Good Suji means good moves in most cases, but not always. However, Bad Suji played by players ignorant to concept of Suji always results in bad moves. (See Yoda, ‘the Sujiba Theory’).

Discardable Stones

Japanese ‘Kasu Ishi’. Stones that have done their job and are not needed anymore. For example a stone that has forced a Tiger Mouth Shape into an Empty Triangle (see Kikashi).

Base

Space in a corner or towards the side, where a group may make eyes.

Attack

Moves that take away the Base of a group of enemy stones. More often leads to a movement on the board than to an actual capture, so has to be devised in regard to the whole board position.

Furikawari

An (usually large scale) exchange of groups resulting in a redistribution of territories.

Names of Moves

In Japanese Go terminology there is a name for almost every kind of move. There are no established translations for most of them, and in most cases they can be translated as fits a given context. However, why not take a moment to reflect on the sheer number of existing terms.

Notes on the Japanese Language