Mahjong tiles
A standard mahjong set has 144 tiles: three numbered suits, the honor tiles (winds and dragons), and eight bonus tiles (flowers and seasons). Here is every tile, what it’s called, and how many there are.
| Group | Kinds | Copies | Tiles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dots, Bamboo, Characters | 3 suits × 9 | 4 | 108 |
| Winds | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Dragons | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Flowers and seasons | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Total | 144 |
Dots (circles)
Nine tiles numbered 1 to 9 by their circles, four of each: 36 in a set. Also called circles or coins.
- 1 of Dots
- 2 of Dots
- 3 of Dots
- 4 of Dots
- 5 of Dots
- 6 of Dots
- 7 of Dots
- 8 of Dots
- 9 of Dots
Bamboo (bams)
Numbered 1 to 9 by their sticks, four of each. The 1 Bamboo shows a bird instead of a single stick.
- 1 of Bamboo
- 2 of Bamboo
- 3 of Bamboo
- 4 of Bamboo
- 5 of Bamboo
- 6 of Bamboo
- 7 of Bamboo
- 8 of Bamboo
- 9 of Bamboo
Characters (cracks)
The Chinese numeral 1 to 9 above the character 萬 (wan, ten thousand), four of each. American players call them cracks.
- 1 of Characters
- 2 of Characters
- 3 of Characters
- 4 of Characters
- 5 of Characters
- 6 of Characters
- 7 of Characters
- 8 of Characters
- 9 of Characters
Winds
East 東, South 南, West 西 and North 北, four of each: 16 tiles. Many sets add a small Latin letter in the corner.
- East Wind
- South Wind
- West Wind
- North Wind
Dragons
Red 中, Green 發 and White (a blank or framed tile), four of each: 12 tiles. In American mahjong the White Dragon is nicknamed soap and also stands for zero.
- Red Dragon
- Green Dragon
- White Dragon
Flowers
Plum 梅, Orchid 蘭, Chrysanthemum 菊 and Bamboo 竹, one of each. In mahjong solitaire any flower matches any flower.
- Plum (Flower)
- Orchid (Flower)
- Chrysanthemum (Flower)
- Bamboo (Flower)
Seasons
Spring 春, Summer 夏, Autumn 秋 and Winter 冬, one of each. Any season matches any season.
- Spring (Season)
- Summer (Season)
- Autumn (Season)
- Winter (Season)
American mahjong tiles
An American set has 152 tiles: the same 136 suit and honor tiles, eight flowers (seasons count as flowers), and eight jokers. American players call the suits dots, bams and cracks, and each dragon goes with a suit: red with cracks, green with bams, and white (soap) with dots. Read more in our American mahjong guide.
Questions
How many tiles are in a mahjong set?
A Chinese or Hong Kong set has 144 tiles: 108 suit tiles, 16 winds, 12 dragons and 8 flowers and seasons. An American set has 152, adding 8 jokers. Japanese riichi uses 136, without flowers.
What are the three suits in mahjong?
Dots (circles), Bamboo (bams) and Characters (cracks), each numbered 1 to 9 with four copies of every tile.
What is the bird tile in mahjong?
The 1 of Bamboo. Most sets show a bird, often a sparrow or peacock, instead of a single bamboo stick.
What does the blank tile mean?
It’s usually the White Dragon. Some sets also include spare blanks to replace lost tiles.
Know your tiles? Put them to work in a game of mahjong solitaire.
