Mahjong Tiles
A standard Cantonese Mahjong set has 136 tiles. They fall into two categories: Suit Tiles and Honor Tiles.
① Suit Tiles (序数牌)
Three suits, numbered 1 to 9. Four copies of each tile (4 × 9 × 3 = 108 tiles). A Sequence (Chow) can only be formed within the same suit.
Characters (万子 / Wàn)
Chinese numerals on top, 万 (10,000) below
1万2万3万4万5万6万7万8万9万
Dots (筒子 / Tǒng)
Also called “Balls” or “Circles”
1筒2筒3筒4筒5筒6筒7筒8筒9筒
Bamboos (条子 / Tiáo)
Also called “Sticks” or “Sou (索)”. Note: 1 Bamboo is the bird 🐦
1条2条3条4条5条6条7条8条9条
② Honor Tiles (字牌)
Four copies of each. Honor tiles can only form Pairs, Triplets, or Kongs — they cannot be used in Sequences.
Winds (风牌 / Fēng)
East · South · West · North (4 each = 16 tiles)
东南西北
Dragons (箭牌 / Jiàn)
Red Zhong · Green Fa · White Ban (4 each = 12 tiles)
中发白
Complete Tile Set Summary
| Category | Tiles | Copies Each | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Characters (万) | 1–9 | 4 | 36 |
| Dots (筒) | 1–9 | 4 | 36 |
| Bamboos (条) | 1–9 | 4 | 36 |
| Winds (风) | 东 南 西 北 | 4 | 16 |
| Dragons (箭) | 中 发 白 | 4 | 12 |
| Total | 136 |