Tiles and Suits

2.1 Overview of the Tile Set

A standard riichi mahjong set contains 136 tiles (some sets include additional red five tiles called aka dora, but the base count remains 136). These 136 tiles consist of 34 unique tile types, each appearing exactly four times. The tiles are divided into two major categories: suited tiles (数牌, suupai/kazuhai) and honor tiles (字牌, jihai/tsuupai). Understanding every tile type, its properties, and its strategic characteristics is foundational to all subsequent study.

2.2 The Three Numbered Suits

There are three numbered suits, each containing tiles numbered 1 through 9. Each number appears four times per suit, giving 36 tiles per suit and 108 suited tiles total.

Manzu (萬子) — Characters / Ten-thousands

The manzu suit represents multiples of ten thousand, written with the character 萬 (man, "ten thousand"). In notation systems used throughout this academy, manzu tiles are represented with the suffix m. For example, 1m represents the one of characters (一萬, ii-man), 5m represents the five of characters (五萬, uu-man), and 9m represents the nine of characters (九萬, kyuu-man). On physical tiles, each manzu tile displays a Chinese numeral in the upper portion and the character 萬 below. The one of characters (一萬) is sometimes mistaken by beginners for a bird-like symbol, but it is simply the Chinese character for "one" in a stylized calligraphic form.

Pinzu (筒子) — Circles / Dots

The pinzu suit uses circular coin-like symbols. In notation, pinzu tiles use the suffix p. Thus 1p is the one of circles (一筒, ii-pin), 5p is the five of circles (五筒, uu-pin), and so on. The circles on pinzu tiles are arranged in standard patterns similar to dice faces for the lower numbers, with the higher numbers using characteristic arrangements. The one of circles is a large single circle, often ornately decorated on traditional tile sets.

Souzu (索子) — Bamboo / Sticks

The souzu suit uses bamboo-stick symbols. In notation, souzu tiles use the suffix s. So 1s is the one of bamboo (一索, ii-sou), 5s is the five of bamboo (五索, uu-sou), etc. A crucial identification note: the 1s (一索) is traditionally depicted as a bird (usually a sparrow or peacock), not as a single bamboo stick. This catches many beginners off guard. All other souzu tiles (2s through 9s) display the appropriate number of bamboo sticks.

2.3 Terminal and Simple Tiles

Within the numbered suits, tiles are further classified based on their number:

This distinction is strategically important. Terminal tiles are inherently less flexible for forming sequences (順子, shuntsu) because they can only appear at the edges of a run. A 1m can participate in only one sequence: 1m-2m-3m. In contrast, a 5m can participate in three different sequences: 3m-4m-5m, 4m-5m-6m, or 5m-6m-7m. This flexibility difference is the foundation of tile efficiency calculations (Module 8).

The combined set of terminal tiles and honor tiles is called yaochuuhai (幺九牌). Many yaku reference yaochuuhai as a category: for instance, tanyao (断幺九) requires that your hand contain no yaochuuhai, while kokushi musou (国士無双) requires one of each yaochuuhai.

2.4 Honor Tiles (字牌, Jihai)

There are seven types of honor tiles, divided into two subcategories. Each type appears four times, for 28 honor tiles total.

Wind Tiles (風牌, Kazehai / Fonpai)

Wind tiles have strategic significance that changes based on the current round wind (場風, bakaze) and each player's seat wind (自風, jikaze). A set of three matching wind tiles (e.g., three East tiles) becomes a yaku if that wind matches either the round wind or your seat wind—and if it matches both, you get credit for both. This is covered in detail in Module 10 (Yaku).

Dragon Tiles (三元牌, Sangenpai)

Dragon tiles are always valuable as yaku components. A set of three of any dragon tile (triplet or kan) constitutes a yaku by itself (yakuhai/役牌). Unlike wind tiles, which are situationally valuable, dragons are always yaku-providing regardless of seat or round. This makes dragon tiles consistently dangerous in opponents' hands and consistently valuable in your own.

2.5 Honor Tile Properties

Honor tiles (字牌) share several critical properties that distinguish them from suited tiles:

First, honor tiles cannot form sequences. You cannot make a run like East-South-West. Honor tiles can only form triplets (刻子, koutsu) or quads/kans (槓子, kantsu). This means isolated single honor tiles are much harder to use than isolated suited tiles, which might eventually become part of a sequence.

Second, honor tiles are yaochuuhai. They interact with yaku that reference terminals and honors (such as chanta, junchan, honroutou, kokushi).

Third, certain honor tiles provide yakuhai value (described above for dragons, and situationally for winds). This makes honor tile triplets uniquely important: they simultaneously satisfy the yaku requirement and add han to your hand value.

2.6 Tile Notation System Used in This Academy

Throughout RIICHI~SENSEI, tiles are written in the standard alphanumeric notation widely used in English-language mahjong discussion and on platforms like Tenhou:

Multiple tiles of the same suit can be written compactly: 123m means 1m-2m-3m. A full hand might be written as 123m 456p 789s 11z (spaces separate groups for readability). See the Notation Guide for complete details.

2.7 Red Five Tiles (赤ドラ / 赤牌, Aka Dora)

In many modern rulesets and on most online platforms, one five-tile from each suit is replaced with a red-colored version. These red fives (赤五萬, 赤五筒, 赤五索) function identically to normal fives for hand completion purposes but each counts as one additional dora (bonus tile adding one han to the hand value). In monochrome notation, red fives are sometimes written as 0m, 0p, 0s to distinguish them from normal fives.

2.8 Tile Identification Practice

2.9 Tile Recognition in Practice — Common Beginner Errors

When first learning tile recognition, several specific errors recur among beginners. The most common is confusing the 1-sou (一索) with honor tiles because it depicts a bird rather than bamboo sticks. In Japanese mahjong parlance, the 1-sou is informally called "小鳥" (kotori, "little bird") by some players. All Japanese instructional texts for beginners, including the widely-used 『これだけで勝てる！ 麻雀の基本形80』 (Koredake de Kateru! Maajan no Kihonkei 80, "Win With Just This! 80 Basic Mahjong Patterns") by Fukuchi Makoto (福地誠), begin with thorough tile identification before proceeding to any strategic content.

Another common confusion involves distinguishing the three dragon tiles. On physical tile sets, haku (白/5z) is a blank white tile or a tile with a bordered rectangle, which beginners sometimes mistake for a missing or damaged tile. Hatsu (發/6z) displays the character 發 often printed in green, and chun (中/7z) displays the character 中 often printed in red—though in our monochrome study context and on many digital platforms, these color distinctions are represented differently.

2.10 Tile Frequency and Distribution Awareness

Understanding that each tile type has exactly four copies is essential for defensive play and probability calculation. When you hold two copies of the 5-pin (五筒) in your hand, and one copy is visible in the discards, you know that exactly one copy remains unseen—either in an opponent's hand or in the wall. This kind of tile counting (牌カウント, hai kaunto) is a fundamental skill discussed extensively in Inoue Takashi's (井上貴志) instructional materials and in Tenhou analytical guides.

The total composition breaks down as: 108 suited tiles (3 suits × 9 numbers × 4 copies) plus 28 honor tiles (7 types × 4 copies) = 136. Of these, 14 form the dead wall (王牌), 52 are dealt to the four players (13 each), and 70 remain in the live wall at the start of play. As each turn passes and tiles are drawn and discarded, the live wall shrinks and the information available through visible tiles increases.

2.11 Suit Characteristics and Strategic Tendencies

While the three numbered suits are mechanically identical, experienced players develop awareness of suit-specific information during games. If the dora indicator reveals a manzu tile, manzu tiles gain strategic importance. If your hand clusters heavily in pinzu, you may pursue honitsu or chinitsu in that suit. The classic Japanese strategy text 『科学する麻雀』 (Kagaku suru Maajan, "Scientific Mahjong") by Totsugeki Touhoku (とつげき東北), published in 2004, emphasizes that tile distribution awareness—knowing which tiles are "live" (unseen) versus "dead" (accounted for)—is the informational foundation on which all advanced techniques rest.