How to read a mahjong card
In American mahjong, every winning hand must match a line on the card published each year by the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL), including the 2026 card. The card looks like a code at first. Here is how to read it; the notation is the same from year to year. We don’t reproduce the hands themselves: the card is copyrighted, and it changes every year.
One line is one hand
Each line shows 14 tiles, grouped into sets. A group of the same character is a set: FF is a pair of flowers, 222 a pung of twos, 5555 a kong of fives. Spaces separate the sets.
The symbols
| On the card | Means |
|---|---|
| 1–9 | A numbered tile in a suit |
| F | Flower |
| D | Dragon: the dragon that goes with the suit of that color, unless the line says otherwise |
| N, E, W, S | The winds |
| 0 | White Dragon (soap), used as zero |
| X / C | Exposed (you may call discards) or concealed |
| Number at the end | What the hand pays |
Colors are suits, but not particular suits
Within a line, tiles printed in the same color must come from the same suit, and different colors mean different suits. Red doesn’t mean cracks, though: you choose which suits to use, unless the note beside the line says, for example, “any 1 suit” or “these numbers only”. Dragons follow the suit they’re paired with: red with cracks, green with bams, soap with dots.
The sections
Hands are grouped by theme. Sections that appear on most cards include the year, 2468, like numbers, addition hands, quints, consecutive runs, 13579, winds and dragons, 369, and singles and pairs. Singles and pairs hands can’t use jokers, and they usually pay the most.
Using the card at the table
- After the deal, look for two or three lines your tiles fit, using the sections as a guide.
- Pass tiles that fit none of them in the Charleston.
- Stay flexible early; commit to one hand once you’ve exposed a set.
Questions
When does the new mahjong card come out?
The National Mah Jongg League releases a new card each spring, and clubs switch to it around April. Order it from the NMJL; the large-print version is easier to read at the table.
What do the colors on the mahjong card mean?
Each color is a different suit within one hand. Tiles in the same color must be the same suit; three colors mean three different suits. The colors don’t stand for any particular suit.
What does X and C mean on the mahjong card?
X means the hand may be exposed: you can call discards to complete sets. C means concealed: the hand must be built from tiles you draw, except the tile that completes it.
What does 0 mean on the mahjong card?
The White Dragon, nicknamed soap. It stands in for zero in year hands such as 2026.
