Mahjong Suits: Dots, Bamboo & Characters

The 3 mahjong suits are Dots, Bamboo, and Characters. Each runs from 1 through 9, with 4 copies of each rank. Together they make 108 of the 136 base tiles used by most four-player variants.

Mahjong suits at a glance

Mahjong Suits: Dots, Bamboo & Characters: Suit, Other English names, Common Japanese name

Suit	Other English names	Common Japanese name	Visual cue
Dots	Circles, Coins	Pinzu	1–9 round symbols
Bamboo	Bams, Sticks	Souzu	Stalks; 1 Bamboo is often a bird
Characters	Craks, Myriads	Manzu	Rank above a repeated suit mark

The names change by community, but the ranks and copies describe the same base structure.

How the 108 suited tiles are counted

Each suit has:

• 9 distinct ranks;
• 4 identical copies of every rank;
• 36 physical tiles in total.

Therefore: 3 suits × 9 ranks × 4 copies = 108 suited tiles.

Add 16 winds and 12 dragons to reach the 136-tile base. Flowers, seasons, jokers, and spare blanks sit outside the 3 numbered suits.

Dots or circles

Dot tiles show 1–9 circular designs. Most ranks can be read by counting the circles, although decorative sets may arrange them in unfamiliar patterns.

The suit is called Dots in American play, Circles in many English guides, and pinzu in Japanese terminology. Historical explanations often connect the circles to coins, but the rules meaning is simply a numbered suit.

Bamboo or bams

Bamboo tiles show stylized stalks from 2 through 9. The 1 Bamboo usually uses a bird—often described as a sparrow or peacock—instead of one stalk. It still functions as rank 1.

American players usually say Bams. Japanese players say souzu. Do not mistake the illustrated 1 Bamboo for a flower tile; compare its copies and corner index.

Characters or craks

Character tiles show a rank above a repeated suit mark associated with myriads. Traditional sets may have no Arabic index, so the top rank symbol must be learned. Many export and American sets print 1–9 in a corner.

American terminology uses Craks; Japanese uses manzu. Character tiles are numbered suit tiles, not honors, even though winds and dragons also use written symbols.

Sequences stay inside one suit

A chow or sequence uses 3 consecutive ranks from the same suit:

• 2-3-4 Dots is legal.
• 7-8-9 Bamboo is legal.
• 4 Dot, 5 Bamboo, 6 Character is not a sequence.
• 8-9-1 does not wrap around.
• Winds and dragons cannot form sequences.

Triplets and quads also stay on one exact tile identity: 3 copies of 7 Bamboo make a pung; four make a kong.

Terminals and simples

Ranks 1 and 9 are terminals because they sit at the ends of a suit. Ranks 2 through 8 are simples.

This distinction matters in scoring and strategy. Some hands require only simples; others require a terminal or honor in every group. Terminal tiles have fewer sequence connections than middle ranks: 5 can join 3-4, 4-6, or 6-7 shapes, while 1 can only join 2-3.

American card colors do not name suits

On an American Mah Jongg card, printed colors show relationships between suit groups. A red printed group does not automatically mean Craks, and a green group does not automatically mean Bams.

Assign Dots, Bams, and Craks to the card colors in any arrangement allowed by the full line. Groups printed in the same color use the same suit; differently colored groups use different suits. See how to read the American card.

Red fives in riichi

Riichi sets may contain red 5 tiles that add bonus value. A red five replaces an ordinary five of the same suit. It is not an additional rank, a joker, or a fourth suit.

The number of red fives depends on the rules. Keep the active wall at 136 by removing one ordinary five for each red five used.

Suit removal in three-player mahjong

Common Japanese sanma removes all 4 copies of Characters 2 through 8. That removes 28 tiles and leaves only 1 and 9 Characters in that suit.

Other three-player rules change the set differently. Never remove a suit merely because the game has 3 players; follow a complete three-player rule set.

A fast recognition drill

1. Sort the full set into Dots, Bamboo, Characters, and honors.
2. Build a 1–9 row for each suit.
3. Stack the other 3 copies behind every rank.
4. Separate flowers, jokers, red fives, and blanks.
5. Shuffle one row and rebuild it without checking a chart.

This drill teaches names and exposes a missing tile at the same time. If unindexed Characters remain difficult, use the tile-reading guide.

Rule references

• The Mahjong Competition Rules define the numbered suits, honors, and 144-tile MCR set.
• The World Riichi Championship rules document current international riichi terminology and red-five options.
• The American Mah Jongg Association beginner guide uses the American names Bams, Craks, and Dots.