Know Your Tiles: A Beginner's Guide to Every Tile in Chinese Mahjong

A Chinese Mahjong set contains 144 tiles divided into two main groups: Honors and Suits. Before you sit down at your first table, it helps to know exactly what you are looking at. Once you can identify every tile at a glance, the strategy starts to make sense. Here is a breakdown of every tile type in the game.

1. Honors (28 tiles)

Honor tiles are the non-numbered tiles in the set. They cannot form chows (sequential sets) and are only used to build pungs (three of a kind) or kongs (four of a kind). Honor tiles are divided into two categories: Winds and Dragons.

Winds (16 tiles, 4 of each)

There are four wind tiles: East (東), South (南), West (西), and North (北). Each wind tile exists in four copies, giving you 16 wind tiles total. Wind tiles carry special scoring value depending on the round you are playing and the seat you are sitting in. A pung of your seat wind, or of the current round wind, scores bonus fans. During an East round, the East wind tile is worth double the bonus for the player sitting in the East seat, since both their seat wind and prevalent wind match. Wind tiles are among the most strategically loaded tiles in the game.

Dragons (12 tiles, 4 of each)

There are three dragon tiles: Red Dragon (中, zhong), Green Dragon (發, fa), and White Dragon (白, bai). The White Dragon is the blank tile, represented by an empty rectangle with a blue border. Each dragon tile exists in four copies, giving you 12 dragon tiles total. Any pung or kong of a dragon tile scores 2 fans, making dragons one of the most reliable ways to build value into a hand. The three dragon tiles together form the basis of some of the highest-scoring hands in the game, including Big 3 Dragons (88 fans) and Little 3 Dragons (64 fans).

2. Suits (108 tiles)

The three suits are the backbone of most winning hands. Each suit runs from 1 to 9, with four copies of every tile, giving you 36 tiles per suit and 108 suit tiles in total. Suit tiles can form chows, pungs, and kongs, making them the most flexible tiles in the game.

Circles, or Bing (筒子牌)

Circles are called bing (築) in Chinese, and you will also hear them called Dots or Tongs. Each tile in this suit is represented by a pattern of round circles. The 1-Bing tile is the most distinctive, featuring a single ornate circular design that looks almost like a compass rose or decorative coin. From 2 through 9, the circles are arranged in clean grid patterns that are easy to count at a glance. Circles are one of the most visually approachable suits for new players, since counting the dots is intuitive. In Chinese, the suit is formally called 筒子牌 (tongzi pai), and individual tiles are read as yi tong (1), er tong (2), san tong (3), and so on.

Bamboos, or Tiao (索子牌)

Bamboos are called tiao (條) in Chinese, and you will also hear them called Bams. Each tile in this suit is represented by vertical bamboo stalk illustrations. The 1-Bamboo tile is a standout: rather than a single bamboo stalk, it typically depicts a bird, usually a peacock or sparrow, perched on bamboo. From 2 through 9, the tiles show increasing numbers of green and red bamboo stalks arranged vertically. The color alternates across values, which helps with quick identification once you know the pattern. In Chinese, the suit is formally called 索子牌 (suozi pai), and individual tiles are read as yi tiao (1), er tiao (2), san tiao (3), and so on. If you are curious how bamboo tiles fit into high-scoring specialty hands, the All Green hand (88 fans) is built exclusively from bamboo suit tiles and the Green Dragon.

Characters, or Wan (萬子牌)

Characters are called wan (萬) in Chinese, and you will also hear them called Craks or Man tiles. These are the most distinctly Chinese tiles in the set. Each tile displays a large Chinese numeral at the top and the character 萬 (wan, meaning ten-thousand) below it. The numerals run from 一 (one) through 九 (nine), printed in alternating red and blue depending on the value. Characters are the easiest suit to learn for anyone with basic familiarity with Chinese numerals, and the most recognizable tile to anyone who has seen a mahjong set before. In Chinese, individual tiles are read as yi wan (1), er wan (2), san wan (3), and so on through jiu wan (9). The Characters suit appears in several landmark hands, including Full Flush (24 fans) when the entire hand is built from a single suit.

Putting It Together

A full Chinese Mahjong set breaks down like this: 16 wind tiles, 12 dragon tiles, 36 circle tiles, 36 bamboo tiles, and 36 character tiles, totaling 136 tiles before bonus tiles are added. Most sets also include 8 bonus tiles (4 Flowers and 4 Seasons), bringing the full count to 144. If you want to go deeper on flower and season tiles, we have a full FAQ covering how they score. Learning to identify every tile quickly is the first real skill in mahjong. Once you can look at your 13 tiles and instantly see what suits you are holding, which honors are present, and what sets are possible, you are ready to start thinking about strategy. Read our introduction to Chinese Mahjong if you want the full cultural context behind the game, or come practice in person at Mahjong Monday, every Monday at 3650 Burt Street from 7 to 9 PM. All tiles provided.