Reading a hand
American mahjong, lesson 3. How a card line turns into the 14 tiles you need.
1. Winning hands are on a card
Each line is one hand of 14 tiles. Your group picks a card to play with. We'll learn with ours.
- FF (green) 1111 (green) 2222 (green) 3333 (green): Flowers and three kongs in a row
- 222 (green) 444 (green) 666 (green) 888 (green) DD (green): Even numbers and a pair of dragons
- NN (blue) EEE (blue) WWW (blue) SS (blue) 2026 (green): Winds and the year
2. What the symbols mean
- 1 = 1 Dot: A number is a suit tile
- F = Flower: F is a flower
- D = Red Dragon: D is a dragon
- NEWS = North, East, West, South: Letters are winds
- 0 = Soap: 0 is Soap
3. Repeats make a set
Written once is a single. Twice is a pair. Three times is a pung. Four is a kong.
- Pair: card line FF: Flower, Flower
- Pung: card line 222: 2 Bam, 2 Bam, 2 Bam
- Kong: card line 3333: 3 Dot, 3 Dot, 3 Dot, 3 Dot
4. One color, one suit
Everything in the same color is the same suit. You pick which suit.
- Yes (All Dots): card line FF 1111 2222 3333: 2 × Flower, 4 × 1 Dot, 4 × 2 Dot, 4 × 3 Dot
- Yes (All Craks works too): card line FF 1111 2222 3333: 2 × Flower, 4 × 1 Crak, 4 × 2 Crak, 4 × 3 Crak
- No (Suits are mixed): card line FF 1111 2222 3333: 2 × Flower, 4 × 1 Dot, 4 × 2 Bam, 4 × 3 Crak
5. Two colors, two suits
All green tiles are one suit. All red tiles are another suit.
- Yes (Green is Dots, red is Bams): card line 11 222 11 222 3333: 2 × 1 Dot, 3 × 2 Dot, 2 × 1 Bam, 3 × 2 Bam, 4 × 3 Dot
- No (Red must be a different suit): card line 11 222 11 222 3333: 2 × 1 Dot, 3 × 2 Dot, 2 × 1 Dot, 3 × 2 Dot, 4 × 3 Dot
6. Dragons match their color
A D in the same color as the numbers is that suit's dragon.
- Yes (Bams with Green Dragons): card line 222 444 666 888 DD: 3 × 2 Bam, 3 × 4 Bam, 3 × 6 Bam, 3 × 8 Bam, 2 × Green Dragon
- No (Red Dragons go with Craks): card line 222 444 666 888 DD: 3 × 2 Bam, 3 × 4 Bam, 3 × 6 Bam, 3 × 8 Bam, 2 × Red Dragon
7. Spell the year
Try it: Tap 4 tiles in order to make 2026 in one suit. (card line 2026) Tiles to pick from: 2 Dot, 6 Bam, Soap, 2 Crak, 6 Dot, Red Dragon, 2 Dot, 2 Bam.
Go to step 78. Quiz: Does it match?
Question: Do these tiles match the line? [card line FF 1111 2222 3333] [2 × Flower, 4 × 1 Bam, 4 × 2 Bam, 4 × 3 Bam]
Answer: Yes. All Bams, one color. It matches.
Question: Do these tiles match the line? [card line FF 1111 2222 3333] [2 × Flower, 4 × 1 Bam, 4 × 2 Dot, 4 × 3 Bam]
Answer: No. One color means one suit. The 2s are Dots.
Question: Do these tiles match the line? [card line 222 444 666 888 DD] [3 × 2 Crak, 3 × 4 Crak, 3 × 6 Crak, 3 × 8 Crak, 2 × Red Dragon]
Answer: Yes. Craks go with Red Dragons. It matches.
Question: Do these tiles match the line? [card line 11 222 11 222 3333] [2 × 1 Dot, 3 × 2 Dot, 2 × 1 Crak, 3 × 2 Crak, 4 × 3 Dot]
Answer: Yes. Green is Dots, red is Craks. It matches.
Question: What does 0 mean on the card?
Answer: Soap
What this lesson teaches
- Each line on the card is one winning hand of 14 tiles.
- Same color means same suit. You choose which suit.
- A D is the dragon that goes with its color's suit. 0 is Soap.
