Mahj Basics 01: Meet the tile families
Meet the numbered suits, winds, dragons, flowers, and jokers, then practice saying the everyday table names aloud.
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Short clips from this episode
Each part of the episode as a short vertical clip, one idea at a time.
Transcript
152 tiles, seven families
152 tiles look like a lot. You do not need to memorize them one by one. Start with families. Three of them are the numbered suits: Bams, Craks, and Dots. The other four are winds, dragons, flowers, and jokers. A standard American mahjong set has 108 numbered tiles, 16 winds, 12 dragons, 8 flowers, and 8 jokers. First learn which family a tile belongs to. Then read its number or name. Remember: 152 tiles, seven families.
Bams, Craks and Dots
Can you tell a Bam from a Crak from a Dot? Bams are also called bamboo. Craks are also called characters. The corner number is your best friend while you are learning. Dots are also called circles. They use round marks you can count. Each suit runs from 1 through 9, with four copies of every number. One surprise: the 1 Bam often shows a bird instead of one bamboo mark. If it looks like a flower at first, check the corner number and call it one bam. Remember: three suits, 1 through 9, and the bird is 1 Bam.
The four winds
These four tiles are not numbered, so learn them by name. The winds are East, South, West, and North. A set has four copies of each wind. Here is what trips people up. These are tile names. You are not trying to match them to where you happen to be sitting in the room. Quick check: these four are mixed up. Name each one from its face. North. East. West. South. Remember: East, South, West, North, four of each.
Red, green and soap
One of these three dragons is called soap. The dragons are red, green, and white, with four copies of each. The white dragon is usually called soap, and it can represent zero when a zero is needed. Each dragon also has a suit partner. Green goes with Bams. Red goes with Craks. Soap goes with Dots. A common mistake: red artwork alone does not make a tile a red dragon. Check whether the tile also has a Crak number. Remember: green with Bams, red with Craks, soap with Dots.
Flowers and jokers
Do you need to learn eight different flowers? No. The eight flowers may have different plants, seasons, or labels on their faces. In American mahjong, all eight count as the same kind of tile. So say flower for every one. Jokers are their own family, and a standard set has eight. For now, your only job is to recognize the joker and say joker. Where a joker may be used is a separate lesson. Remember: eight flowers that all play alike, and eight jokers.
Say the names out loud
Now say each name before I do. What is this one? Four bam. And this? Soap. This one? North. And this? Flower. Last one. One bam, the bird. When you sort your own rack, you may use any order that helps you. While you are learning, pull out winds, dragons, flowers, and jokers, group the three suits, then put each suit from low to high. Remember: family first, then the number or the name.