Mahjong Tiles Guide
Every mahjong set is built from the same DNA: three number suits, four winds, three dragons — plus the bonus and wildcard tiles that vary by region. Learn the tiles once and every variant opens up.
Characters (Wan)
The ten thousand suit, marked with the Chinese numerals 一 to 九. Valued highly in many variants for honor pairing and flush patterns.
Bamboo (Tiao)
The bamboo suit, drawn as strings of bamboo sticks. The 1 Bamboo is traditionally a bird, making it the most recognizable tile in the set.
Circles (Tong)
The circle (dot) suit, drawn as stacked coins. The most beginner-readable suit and the usual home of pipe-and-dot mnemonics.
Winds
East, South, West and North honor tiles. They form seat-wind and round-wind pairs, which score bonuses in most variants.
Dragons
Red, Green and White dragon tiles — the three top honors. Pungs of dragons score in nearly every variant and anchor many yakuhai-style strategies.
Flowers & Seasons
Eight bonus tiles (plum, orchid, bamboo-flower, chrysanthemum; spring, summer, autumn, winter). Set aside for instant payouts — they never count toward a winning hand in most variants.
Jokers
Eight wild tiles used only in American mahjong. A joker can substitute any tile in a pung, kong, quint or sextet — but never in a pair-only slot.