Mahjong Tile Reference Chart — All 144 Tiles in One Table
Every tile in a mahjong set in one place: the 42 faces, how many copies of each exist, which tiles can pair with which, and how the American 152-tile set differs. Free to cite.
A mahjong set is not "144 identical tiles". It is 144 tiles built from 42 different faces, and the counts are uneven in a way that matters whether you are playing the four-player game or clearing a solitaire board.
This page is the reference chart: what exists, how many of each, and what can pair with what.
The whole set on one line
| Group | Distinct faces | Copies of each face | Tiles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three suits (dots, bamboo, characters) | 27 | 4 | 108 |
| Winds | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Dragons | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Flowers and seasons | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Standard mahjong set | 42 | — | 144 |
| American jokers (added on top) | 1 | 8 | 8 → 152 |
Three quarters of the set is suited tiles. The honours are a fifth of it. The eight bonus tiles are the odd ones out, because each of them exists exactly once.
The three suits: 108 tiles
Each suit runs 1 to 9, and each rank exists four times. 3 suits × 9 ranks × 4 copies = 108 tiles.
| Suit | Chinese | American name | The 1 tile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Characters | 万 wàn ("ten thousand") | Craks | The numeral 1 with the character for ten thousand above it |
| Bamboo | 条 tiáo | Bams | A bird — usually a peacock or sparrow — not a single stick |
| Dots / Circles | 筒 tǒng | Dots | A single large circle, from the original copper-coin design |
The suits are equal in number and equal in value. Any ranking between them comes from a variant's scoring rules, never from the tiles.
The honour tiles: 28 tiles
Honours cannot form sequences. They come in two families.
| Family | Faces | Copies each | Tiles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winds | East, South, West, North | 4 | 16 |
| Dragons | Red (中), Green (發), White (白) | 4 | 12 |
White Dragon is a blank tile on most sets, which is why American players call it Soap. Red and Green are the most recognisable tiles in any set.
The bonus tiles: 8 tiles, 8 unique faces
This is the part that catches people out. Flowers and seasons are not four-of-a-kind.
| Group | Faces | Copies each |
|---|---|---|
| Flowers | Plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum | 1 |
| Seasons | Spring, summer, autumn, winter | 1 |
They are paired by tradition — flower 1 belongs to season 1, and so on — but mechanically the rule is different from everything else. Any flower matches any flower. Any season matches any season. A flower never matches a season.
What can pair with what
| Pair | Legal? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Bamboo + 3 Bamboo | Yes | Identical face |
| 3 Bamboo + 3 Dots | No | Different suit — neighbouring ranks in the same suit do not match either |
| North Wind + North Wind | Yes | Honours match only their exact twin |
| Red Dragon + Green Dragon | No | Different face, even though both are dragons |
| Any flower + any flower | Yes | The bonus exception |
| Flower + season | No | Different groups |
| Joker filling a pair (American) | No | Jokers fill groups of three or more only |
| Joker replacing a flower (American) | No | Flowers always need the real tile |
How a solitaire board builds 144 tiles
The mahjong solitaire board on this site reproduces the real set with one adaptation you can verify by playing:
- All 34 ordinary faces (27 suited + 4 winds + 3 dragons) appear four times each = 136 tiles.
- The bonus group is two flower faces and two season faces, each appearing twice = 8 tiles.
The reason is fairness. In a physical set there is only one of each flower, so a board using the true eight bonus tiles would contain four flowers that can pair only with each other and four seasons in the same position — a very thin pool. Doubling two of each keeps the bonus group at eight tiles while giving every bonus tile a partner. Everything else matches a real set tile for tile.
Two practical uses of tile counts
Reading a solitaire board. If you have already removed three copies of a face and the fourth is buried under two layers, that pair cannot come back until the stack above it is gone. Plan around it now instead of discovering it at the end.
Counting at a four-player table. With four copies of every ordinary face split between the wall, the discards and three opponents' melds, you can usually work out whether the tile you are waiting for is still live. If all four are accounted for, stop waiting.
Citing this chart
You are free to quote or reuse this reference with attribution. A plain-text citation:
MahjongBreak — Mahjong Tile Reference Chart: All 144 Tiles in One Table
https://mahjongbreak.com/guide/mahjong-tile-reference/Or in HTML:
Source: <a href="https://mahjongbreak.com/guide/mahjong-tile-reference/">Mahjong Tile Reference Chart</a>, MahjongBreakFrequently asked questions
How many tiles are in a mahjong set?
144 in a standard set, made from 42 unique faces. American mah jongg uses 152 because it adds 8 jokers. Some regional variants drop the flowers and seasons and play with 136.
How many different mahjong tiles are there?
42 distinct faces. 34 of them are four-of-a-kind; the 8 flowers and seasons exist once each.
Why are there 42 faces but 144 tiles?
Because 34 faces × 4 copies = 136, and the 8 bonus faces are single tiles. 136 + 8 = 144.
Which mahjong tiles are worth the most?
In the tile set itself, none — the tiles have no built-in value. In Chinese and Japanese play, value comes from the patterns you complete; in American mah jongg, from how many points the hand you matched is listed as worth on the card. In solitaire, tiles have no value at all.
Do the suits have different values?
No. Any difference in scoring between suits comes from the rules of the variant you are playing, not from the tiles.
Is a mahjong solitaire board a real mahjong set?
Yes — 144 tiles, the same 42 faces, the same counts. Only the bonus group is rearranged slightly so that every tile on the board has a partner.
Play it yourself
Related guides
- American Mah Jongg Rules — How It Differs from Chinese and Japanese MahjongThe four rules that make American mah jongg a different game: 152 tiles with jokers, no sequences, a card that defines legal hands, and the Charleston pass before play begins.
- Mahjong Rules Quick Reference — Chinese, Japanese, American and Solitaire Side by SideThe four games people mean by "mahjong", compared in one table: tiles in the set, jokers, hand size, whether sequences are allowed, how you win and how you score. Free to cite.
- Mahjong Tiles Explained — All 144 Tiles, Their Suits and Their MeaningsWhat every tile in a mahjong set actually is: 108 suited tiles, 16 winds, 12 dragons, 8 flowers and seasons, plus the 8 jokers that turn it into the 152-tile American set.
- How to Play Mahjong Solitaire — Rules, Free Tiles and LayoutsA plain-English walkthrough of mahjong solitaire: which tiles match, what "free" actually means, how the Turtle, Tower and Pyramid layouts differ, and the four buttons you get.
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