The short answer: Mahjong has three suits — circles, bamboos, and characters. Each suit runs from 1 to 9, with four copies of every rank, so each suit holds 36 tiles and the three suits total 108. Winds, dragons, and flowers are not suits.
Open a mahjong set for the first time and you’re staring at a wall of rings, sticks, and squiggles. It looks like a secret code. It isn’t. Almost every tile belongs to one of three suits, and once you can tell them apart, reading a hand gets easy.
What are the three suits in mahjong?
- Circles, also called dots. Each tile shows rings — one for a 1, two for a 2, all the way up to nine for a 9.
- Bamboos, drawn as green sticks. Same 1-to-9 system, and in most sets the 1 of bamboos is decorated as a bird.
- Characters, also called wan. These show a Chinese numeral with the character for ten thousand underneath. Western sets often add Arabic numbers to help.
Are winds, dragons, and flowers part of a suit?
No. Winds and dragons are honor tiles, and flowers and seasons are bonus tiles. None of them carries a number, so they can never form a run. The suits are only the three numbered families — 36 tiles each, 108 total — with 36 honor and bonus tiles on top in a full 144-tile set.
The fastest way to learn the suits is to match them yourself. Try our free Turtle Mahjong game — it’s all about recognizing tile pairs. Prefer the rules first? Start with the basic rules of mahjong.
Related Questions
How many tiles are in each suit?
Each suit has nine ranks with four copies of every rank, so 36 tiles per suit. Three suits make 108 suit tiles — the biggest part of any set.
What do honor tiles look like?
Winds show the characters for East, South, West, and North. Dragons are red, green, and white. None of them carries a number, which is the quickest way to spot them.
Why is the 1 of bamboos drawn as a bird?
Tradition, mostly. The tile was decorated with a sparrow or peacock so long ago that most sets still keep it. It’s still a 1.
Are flower tiles a suit?
No. Flowers and seasons are bonus tiles. They sit apart from your hand, can add points, and are replaced from the wall when drawn.