Mahjong Suits: Dots, Bams and Craks

What are the suits in mahjong?

The 3 different suits in mahjong are dots, bams and craks. They are the number tiles, and each one runs from 1 to 9.

There are 4 copies of every suit tile. So a set has four 1 dots, four 2 dots, and so on up to the 9 craks.

How do you tell the suits apart?

Look at the picture on the tile. Each suit has its own look.

Dots

Mahjong dots are round circles. The number of circles is the number of the tile. So the 7 dot shows 7 circles.

Bams

Bams show sticks of bamboo. Count the sticks to read the number. The 1 bam is the odd one. It usually shows a bird, which is often called the sparrow.

Craks

Craks show a Chinese number on top and 萬 below it. 萬 means 10,000. Spot it and you have found a crak. To read the top part, see our guide to mahjong numbers.

How do suits work in American mahjong?

In American mahjong, colors on the card tell you how to mix suits. The card lists the winning hands, and the National Mah Jongg League makes a new one each year.

• Hands on the card are printed in blue, green and red.
• The colors do not stand for one suit. Blue does not always mean dots.
• In one hand, parts in the same color must be the same suit.
• Parts in different colors must be different suits.

Here is a made-up example. A hand has one group in red and one in blue. You could play the red group in craks and the blue group in dots. You could not use dots for both.

Each suit also goes with one dragon: red with craks, green with bams and white with dots. See mahjong dragons for more. Our guide to the mahjong card explains the colors in full.