# How to read a mahjong card

Each line on a mahjong card is one winning hand of 14 tiles. Numbers are suit tiles, letters are winds, F is a flower, D is a dragon and 0 is Soap. The colors tell you which tiles must be the same suit.

The card can look confusing at first. Once you know five symbols and one color rule, you can read any line on it. The examples below come from our own House Card.

## What the card is

The card is a list of every hand that can win. Hands are grouped into sections by pattern, such as even numbers, odd numbers, or hands that spell out the year. Next to each hand is its value, which is what the other players pay when you win with it.

Groups usually buy a new official card each year, so the hands change. This site uses its own [House Card](https://learnmahjongquick.com/american-mahjong-card), which works the same way. You can also [use your own card](https://learnmahjongquick.com/american-mahjong-card/custom) when you play here.

Our House Card has these sections: 2026, Evens, Odds, Like Numbers, Consecutive Run, Winds & Dragons, 369, and Singles & Pairs.

## The five symbols

| On the card | Means |
| --- | --- |
| 1 to 9 | A suit tile with that number |
| F | A flower |
| D | A dragon |
| N, E, W, S | North, East, West and South winds |
| 0 | Soap, the white dragon |

Those are all the symbols. The rest of the card tells you how many of each tile you need and which suits they are.

## Repeats make sets

A symbol written once is a single tile. Written twice, it is a pair. Three times is a pung, four is a kong, and five is a quint. So 222 means three 2s of one suit, and FFFF means four flowers.

When different symbols sit together in one group, each one is a single tile. 2026 is four single tiles: a 2, a Soap, a 2 and a 6. NEWS is one of each wind.

Every line adds up to 14 tiles. Counting the symbols is a good way to check you have read it right.

## Colors show suits

This is the most important rule on the card: everything in one color is the same suit, and each color is a different suit. The card doesn't tell you which suit. You choose.

- 11 (green) 222 (green) 11 (red) 222 (red) 3333 (green): Any 3 numbers in a row, 2 suits (25 points). Green is one suit, red is another. Here green is Dots and red is Bams. Green as Craks and red as Dots would work too.

A D is the dragon of whatever suit its color stands for. Red Dragons go with Craks, Green Dragons with Bams, and Soap with Dots.

- 222 (green) 444 (green) 666 (green) 888 (green) DD (green): Any 1 suit (25 points). All one color, so all one suit. In Craks, the dragons must be Red.

Winds, flowers and Soap used as a 0 don't belong to a suit, so their color doesn't matter.

## Notes beside the hand

Each line has a short note. It tells you how many suits the hand uses and whether the numbers can change.

- **Any 1 suit, any 2 suits, any 3 suits:** how many suits the colors stand for.
- **Any 1 number:** the numbers shown are an example. You may use any number, as long as every group uses that same number.
- **Any 3 numbers in a row:** you may move the whole run up or down, so 1, 2, 3 could be 5, 6, 7.

- FF (green) 1111 (green) 1111 (red) 1111 (blue): Any 1 number in 3 suits (25 points). Written with 1s, but any one number works. Here it is 5s, one kong in each suit.

## Values, X and C

The number at the end of a line is the hand's value. Harder hands are worth more. The [scoring guide](https://learnmahjongquick.com/guides/mahjong-scoring) shows how the value turns into payments.

Many cards mark each hand X or C. X means exposed: you may call discards to finish sets and show them on your rack. C means concealed: you build the whole hand from tiles you draw, and you may only call your very last tile for mahjong. On our House Card, each hand is marked X or C.

- FF (green) 2026 (green) 2026 (red) 2026 (blue): Any 3 suits (50 points, concealed). A concealed hand. It is worth more because you can't call tiles to build it.

## A worked example

Here is how to read one line from start to finish.

- NN (blue) EEE (blue) WWW (blue) SS (blue) 2026 (green): Any 1 suit (30 points)

1. NN is a pair of North winds.
2. EEE and WWW are pungs of East and West.
3. SS is a pair of South winds.
4. 2026 is four single tiles: 2, Soap, 2, 6. The numbers share one color, so they are one suit.
5. Count: 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 4 = 14 tiles.

Jokers could fill the pungs of East and West. They can't fill the pairs or the single tiles in 2026.

## Using the card during a game

After the deal, look at your tiles and scan the card for two or three hands they could make. Look for numbers you have several of, and for pairs, since pairs can't use jokers. As the game goes on, narrow it down to one. Our [strategy guide](https://learnmahjongquick.com/guides/mahjong-strategy) explains how.

## Questions

**What do the colors mean on a mahjong card?**

Each color stands for a suit. Everything in one color is the same suit, and each color is a different suit. You choose which suits to use.

**What does 0 mean on a mahjong card?**

0 means Soap, the white dragon. It is used in hands that spell out a year, like 2026.

**What do X and C mean on a mahjong card?**

X means the hand can be exposed: you may call discards for it. C means concealed: you may only call your last tile, for mahjong.

**What does D mean on a mahjong card?**

D is a dragon. It is the dragon that matches the suit of the same color: Red for Craks, Green for Bams, Soap for Dots.

**Can I use the House Card with my group?**

If your group agrees, yes. It works the same way as the cards groups buy each year. Many groups prefer to use the current official card, and you can type any card into our game to practice with it.

Web version: https://learnmahjongquick.com/guides/how-to-read-a-mahjong-card