The Tiles

Before you can play, you need to know your tiles. A mahjong set contains 136 tiles divided into suits and honors. Unlike playing cards, each unique tile appears four times in the set (four copies of each). Let’s break them down.

The Three Suits

Mahjong has three numbered suits, each containing tiles numbered 1 through 9. Each numbered tile appears four times, giving us 36 tiles per suit (9 ranks × 4 copies = 36 tiles).

Manzu (Characters/Wan) - The Red Tiles

The character suit features Chinese numerals. We abbreviate it with “m” in notation.

The characters show the Chinese number with the character 萬 (wan/man, meaning “ten thousand”) below. You’ll recognize these by their distinctive red Chinese characters.

Pinzu (Circles/Dots) - The Blue Tiles

The circle suit shows circular patterns. We abbreviate it with “p” in notation.

These tiles display circles or dots—one circle for the 1-pin, two for the 2-pin, and so on. The pattern is the most intuitive of the three suits.

Souzu (Bamboo/Sticks) - The Green Tiles

The bamboo suit depicts bamboo sticks (with one notable exception). We abbreviate it with “s” in notation.

Important quirk: The 1-bamboo (1s) doesn’t show a single bamboo stick—it shows a bird (usually a peacock or sparrow). This is traditional across all mahjong variants. The tiles 2-9 show the corresponding number of bamboo sticks.

Terminals and Simples

Within the suits, tiles are categorized by their rank:

• Terminals (1s and 9s): The 1 and 9 of each suit
• Simples (2-8s): Everything in between

This distinction matters for several yaku (scoring patterns), which we’ll cover later. For now, just remember that 1s and 9s are special.

Honor Tiles

Beyond the three suits, we have honor tiles—28 tiles that don’t belong to any suit. These are divided into winds and dragons.

The Four Winds

The wind tiles in order:

• 1z = East (東, tōn)
• 2z = South (南, nan)
• 3z = West (西, shā)
• 4z = North (北, pei)

Each wind appears four times in the set (4 winds × 4 copies = 16 tiles).

The “z” abbreviation stands for “jihai” (字牌), the Japanese term for honor tiles.

The Three Dragons

The dragon tiles in order:

• 5z = White Dragon (白, haku) - blank or with a blue border
• 6z = Green Dragon (發, hatsu) - green character 發
• 7z = Red Dragon (中, chun) - red character 中

Each dragon appears four times in the set (3 dragons × 4 copies = 12 tiles).

Together, winds and dragons give us 28 honor tiles. Honors cannot form sequences—only triplets (three identical tiles) or pairs.

Red Fives (Dora)

Most modern riichi mahjong sets include red fives—special versions of the 5-man, 5-pin, and 5-sou that are worth bonus points (they count as dora, which we’ll explain later).

In notation, red fives are written as “0m”, “0p”, or “0s”.

Each suit has one red five replacing one of the four normal 5s:

• 3× normal 5-man + 1× red 5-man
• 3× normal 5-pin + 1× red 5-pin
• 3× normal 5-sou + 1× red 5-sou

Red fives function identically to normal 5s for making sequences and sets—they just add a bonus point to your hand when you win. Some game settings disable red fives, returning to the traditional four normal 5s per suit.

Tile Count Summary

Let’s verify the math:

• Suited tiles: 3 suits × 9 ranks × 4 copies = 108 tiles
• Honor tiles: 7 types × 4 copies = 28 tiles
• Total: 108 + 28 = 136 tiles

Reading Notation

Throughout this guide (and across the mahjong community), we use number-letter notation to represent tiles:

• 123m = 1-man, 2-man, 3-man
• 456p = 4-pin, 5-pin, 6-pin
• 789s = 7-sou, 8-sou, 9-sou
• 1234567z = East, South, West, North, White, Green, Red
• 0m, 0p, 0s = red fives

You write all tiles of the same suit together, followed by the suit letter:

Spaces separate distinct groups (like different suits or melds):

Practice Recognition

Take a moment to identify these tiles:

From left to right: 1-man, 9-man, 1-pin, 9-pin, 1-sou, 9-sou, East, South, West, North, White Dragon, Green Dragon, Red Dragon.

Why This Matters

Understanding the tiles isn’t just memorization—it’s the foundation of reading hands. You need to instantly recognize:

• What suit a tile belongs to (for sequences and yaku)
• Whether it’s a terminal or simple (for certain scoring patterns)
• Which tiles are honors (they can’t form sequences)

The good news? After a few games, tile recognition becomes automatic. Your brain will start seeing “123m” as a natural sequence, and you’ll instinctively know which tiles connect.

Next Up: The Goal

Now that you know your tiles, let’s talk about what you’re actually trying to build with them. In the next chapter, we’ll cover the winning hand structure: four sets plus a pair.

Ready to learn the goal of the game? Click “Next” below!