A Guide to All 144 Mahjong Tiles
Every tile in the set, what the characters mean, and how matching works for each group.
A standard Mahjong set has 144 tiles. They fall into five categories: three numbered suits, two honor suits (Winds and Dragons), and two bonus groups (Seasons and Flowers). Most tiles have four identical copies in the set. Seasons and Flowers are the exception — there's only one of each, and any two tiles in the group match each other.
The three suits — 108 tiles
The backbone of the set. Each suit runs from 1 to 9, and each value has four identical copies, for 36 tiles per suit and 108 total.
Characters (萬/万)
Also called Wan, Myriad, or Ten-Thousand tiles. The face shows a Chinese numeral, and the subcharacter 万 (wàn, “ten thousand”) appears below it.
- 一万 — 1 (one)
- 二万 — 2 (two)
- 三万 — 3 (three)
- 四万 — 4 (four)
- 五万 — 5 (five)
- 六万 — 6 (six)
- 七万 — 7 (seven)
- 八万 — 8 (eight)
- 九万 — 9 (nine)
The characters are traditional Chinese numerals. You'll recognize them if you've seen Japanese or Chinese writing — they're the same characters used in both languages.
Bamboo (竹)
The face shows the number 1–9, and the subcharacter 竹 (zhú, “bamboo”) appears below. One exception: the 1-Bamboo tile traditionally depicts a bird — a peacock or crane — rather than a single bamboo stalk. This is a holdover from early Qing dynasty sets, where the bird represented good fortune. Modern sets vary: some show a single stalk, some keep the bird.
Circles (●)
Also called Dots or Coins. The face shows the digit 1–9, and the subcharacter ● indicates the suit. The circles originally represented Chinese copper coins with a hole in the center. Higher-numbered tiles show multiple circles arranged in patterns.
Winds — 16 tiles
Four winds, four copies of each. Winds must match exactly — East only matches East, not South.
- 東 (Dōng) — East. Often the “dealer” wind in traditional Mahjong.
- 南 (Nán) — South.
- 西 (Xī) — West.
- 北 (Běi) — North.
In the four-player game, each player sits at one of the cardinal directions, and one wind is “their” wind for scoring purposes. In solitaire, winds are just tiles that must match their own kind.
Dragons — 12 tiles
Three dragons, four copies of each. Like Winds, Dragons match only their own type.
- 中 (Zhōng) — Red Dragon. 中 means “center” or “middle.” Displayed in red. Associated with luck and completion in Chinese culture.
- 發 (Fā) — Green Dragon. 發 means “prosperity” or “to issue forth.” You'll recognize it from the Cantonese toast gung hay fat choy — 恭喜發財, where 發 is the same character. Displayed in green.
- 白 (Bái) — White Dragon. 白 means “white” or “blank.” The tile is often depicted as an empty frame or plain white face. Represents purity or emptiness.
Seasons — 4 tiles
One copy of each. Any Season matches any other Season — you don't need two Spring tiles, just any two from the group.
- 春 (Chūn) — Spring
- 夏 (Xià) — Summer
- 秋 (Qiū) — Autumn
- 冬 (Dōng) — Winter
In a 144-tile set there are four Season tiles total, which means exactly two pairs. Because any two match, a stuck board can sometimes be rescued by finding an overlooked Season.
Flowers — 4 tiles
One copy of each. Same wild-matching rule as Seasons — any Flower matches any other Flower.
- 梅 (Méi) — Plum Blossom
- 蘭 (Lán) — Orchid
- 菊 (Jú) — Chrysanthemum
- 竹 (Zhú) — Bamboo
These are the “Four Gentlemen” (四君子) of Chinese painting — plants associated with the virtues of scholars: resilience (plum), elegance (orchid), integrity (chrysanthemum), and uprightness (bamboo). You'll notice the Flower Bamboo (竹) is the same character as the Bamboo suit — context tells them apart.
The full count
- 3 suits × 9 values × 4 copies = 108 suited tiles
- 4 winds × 4 copies = 16 wind tiles
- 3 dragons × 4 copies = 12 dragon tiles
- 4 seasons × 1 copy = 4 season tiles
- 4 flowers × 1 copy = 4 flower tiles
- Total: 144 tiles
How matching works in solitaire
Two tiles match if they are the same tile — same suit, same value. For example, the 7 of Circles only matches another 7 of Circles. East Wind only matches East Wind.
The two exceptions are the bonus groups: any Season matches any other Season, and any Flower matches any other Flower. These are the only tiles in the set where you don't need an exact pair.