What Do the Mahjong Tiles Mean? Learn What the Symbols on Mahjong Tiles Stand For.

With 160 tiles in a Mahjong set, it can be hard to remember what everything means. Here is an easy guide to the tiles and how to use them when playing Mahjong. 

 

MAHJONG SUITS:

BAM - Short for Bamboo. Numbers 1-9 with a matching Dragon. The 1 Bam is called "Bird Bam;" some groups like to cheers drinks when a Bird Bam is played. The Bam Dragon is called "Green Dragon" or simply "Green." 4 of each tile in set.

1 Bam - Bird Bam Mahjong Tiles 2 Bam - Mahjong Tiles 3 Bam - Mahjong Tiles 4 Bam - Mahjong Tiles 5 Bam - Mahjong Tiles 
6 Bam - Mahjong Tiles 7 Bam - Mahjong Tiles 8 Bam - Mahjong Tiles 9 Bam - Mahjong Tiles Green Dragoon - Bam Dragon - Mahjong Tiles

 

CRAK (or CRACK) - Short for Character. Numbers 1-9 with a matching Dragon. The Crak Dragon is called "Red Dragon" or simply "Red." 4 of each tile in set.

1 Crak - Mahjong Tiles 2 Crak - Mahjong Tiles 3 Crak - Mahjong Tiles 4 Crak - Mahjong Tiles 5 Crak - Mahjong Tiles

6 Crak - Mahjong Tiles 7 Crak - Mahjong Tiles 8 Crak - Mahjong Tiles 9 Crak - Mahjong Tiles Red Dragon - Crak Dragon - Mahjong Tiles

 

DOT - Numbers 1-9 with a matching Dragon. The Dot Dragon is called "White Dragon" or "Soap" and can be used as a zero--when used as a zero, the Soap has no suit. 4 of each tile in set.

1 Dot - Mahjong Tiles 2 Dot - Mahjong Tiles 3 Dot - Mahjong Tiles 4 Dot - Mahjong Tiles 5 Dot - Mahjong Tiles

6 Dot - Mahjong Tiles 7 Dot - Mahjong Tiles 8 Dot - Mahjong Tiles 9 Dot - Mahjong Tiles Dot Dragon - White Dragon - Soap - Mahjong Tiles

 

NON-SUIT TILES:

WINDS - North, South, East, and West. Represented as NEWS on National Mah Jongg League card. 4 of each tile in set.

Winds - NEWS - North Winds - NEWS - East Winds - NEWS - West Winds - NEWS - South 

 

FLOWERS - Shown as F on NMJL card. Flowers are interchangeable. 8 total flowers in set.

Flowers - Bird of Paradise - Mahjong Tiles Flowers - Chrysanthemum - Mahjong Tiles Flowers - Lotus - Mahjong Tiles Flowers - Peony - Mahjong Tiles

Flowers - Peony - Mahjong Tiles Flowers - Lotus - Mahjong Tiles Flowers - Bird of Paradise - Mahjong Tiles Flowers - Chrysanthemum - Mahjong Tiles 

 

JOKERS - Can be used to complete groups of Three or more tiles for an exposure. 10 total in set.

Joker - Mahjong Tiles 

BLANKS - Can be used to swap for a dead discarded tile at any time during the game. Not officially part of NMJL play, so used only as a house rule and not for tournament play.

 

TILE GROUPINGS:

SINGLE - One tile. No Jokers can be used for a Single. A tile cannot be called for a Single, unless it is the final tile needed to Mahj.

Single - Bird Bam

 

PAIR - Two matching tiles. No Jokers can be used in a Pair. A tile cannot be called to complete a Pair, unless it is the final tile needed to Mahj.

Pair - 6 Crak Pair - 6 Crak

 

PUNG - Three matching tiles. Jokers can be used for Pungs. Tiles can be called to complete Pungs.

Pung - 8 Dot Pung - 8 Dot Pung - 8 Dot

 

KONG - Four matching tiles. Jokers can be used for Kongs. Tiles can be called to complete Kongs.

Kong - 8 Bam Kong - 8 Bam Kong - 8 Bam Kong - 8 Bam

 

QUINT - Five matching tiles. Jokers MUST be used to complete Quints. Tiles can be called to complete Quints.

Quint - North Quint - North Quint - North Quint - North Quint - Joker

 

GROUP OF SINGLES - NEWS and YEAR groupings are considered a group of singles, meaning NO Jokers and NO calling to complete. Same applies for other groups of singles.

NEWS - North NEWS - East NEWS - West NEWS - South

2023 - 2 Crak 2023 - Soap 2023 - 2 Crak 2023 - 3 Crak

Shop Mahjong Tiles here.