What are the three suits in mahjong?

The three suits are the backbone of a mahjong set, just like hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds in cards. Most of the tiles you match will be suit tiles.

Quick answer: The three suits are Circles (also called Dots), Bamboo, and Characters. Each suit runs from 1 to 9, with four copies of every number. That makes 36 tiles per suit and 108 suit tiles in total, the bulk of a 144-tile set.

Meet the three suits

Each suit has its own look:

  • Circles (Dots): tiles covered in round coins or dots, one to nine of them.
  • Bamboo: tiles showing bamboo sticks. The Bamboo 1 is often drawn as a bird instead of a stick.
  • Characters: tiles with a Chinese number character plus the symbol for ten thousand.

How they are numbered

Every suit runs 1 through 9, and there are four copies of each number. So there are four Bamboo 5s, four Circles 8s, and so on. That is 9 numbers times 4 copies times 3 suits, which equals 108 suit tiles, three-quarters of the whole set.

Matching suit tiles

Suit tiles match only an identical tile: same suit, same number. A Circles 3 pairs only with another Circles 3, never with a Bamboo 3. The four Winds, three Dragons, and the bonus Flowers and Seasons round out the rest of the set, covered in Wind and Dragon tiles.

Browse the tile glossary

Related questions

How many mahjong tile types are there?

There are 42 different tile designs in a standard mahjong set. That is 27 suit designs (three suits numbered 1 to 9), four Winds, three Dragons, and eight unique bonus tiles (four Flowers and four Seasons). With four copies of most tiles, the designs add up to 144 tiles.

What are Wind and Dragon tiles?

Winds and Dragons are the honor tiles in a mahjong set. There are four Winds (East, South, West, North) and three Dragons (Red, Green, White), with four copies of each. That is 16 Wind tiles and 12 Dragon tiles, 28 honor tiles in all.

What are Flower and Season tiles?

Flowers and Seasons are the 8 bonus tiles in a mahjong set: 4 Flower tiles and 4 Season tiles. Unlike every other tile, they do not need an exact twin. Any Flower matches any other Flower, and any Season matches any other Season.

How many tiles are in a mahjong set?

A standard mahjong set has 144 tiles, which is exactly 72 matching pairs in Mahjong Solitaire. That total breaks down into 108 suit tiles, 16 Wind tiles, 12 Dragon tiles, and 8 bonus tiles (4 Flowers and 4 Seasons).