What do the colors on a mah jongg card mean?

A color does not name a suit. It says that everything printed in that color is the same suit as each other, and which suit is your choice. One color means one suit, two colors mean two different suits, three colors mean all three.

What is a pung, a kong and a quint?

A pung is three of the same tile, a kong is four, and a quint is five. A pair is two and a single is one. A quint always needs at least one joker, because only four of any tile exist.

Can a joker be used for a pair?

No. A joker may stand in for any tile in a group of three or more, so a pung, kong, quint or sextet. It may never stand in for a single tile or for any part of a pair. That is why no joker can be used anywhere in a singles and pairs hand.

What is the soap in mah jongg?

The soap is the White Dragon. It is the one tile that plays as a number: in a hand built on a year or another set of numbers, the soap is the zero.

Does the mah jongg card change every year?

Yes. The National Mah Jongg League publishes a new card each spring and the hands on it change. The sections mostly do not: the year, 2468, Any Like Numbers, Quints, Consecutive Run, 13579, Winds and Dragons, 369 and Singles and Pairs have been on every card since at least 2020. Addition Hands come and go. Learning the kinds of hand is what carries from one card to the next.

What are addition hands in mah jongg?

Hands laid out as a sum: two numbers and the number they add up to, often with flowers. The card prints a plus and an equals sign to show the logic, but the tiles are just numbers. Players also call them math hands. The section is not on every card: it was printed in 2023 and 2024 and left off the 2025 and 2026 cards.

Which dragon goes with which suit?

Green goes with Bam, red goes with Crak, and white, the soap, goes with Dot. Where a card prints a D, it means the dragon belonging to whichever suit that color turned out to be.

The kinds of hand on a mah jongg card

A new card comes out every spring and the hands on it change. The kinds of hand do not. The same sections turn up on card after card, and a player who knows them can pick up a card they have never seen and find their way around it in a minute.

This page is about those kinds. It uses the school's own card for its examples, so nothing here depends on what one year happened to print.

First, the words a card assumes you know

A card is written in shorthand, and the shorthand is explained on the back rather than the front. That makes the back the part to read first. It is the same on every card, every year.

Single: One tile.
Pair: Two of the same tile.
Pung: Three of the same tile.
Kong: Four of the same tile.
Quint: Five of the same tile. Needs a joker, because only four exist.
Sextet: Six of the same tile. Needs at least two jokers.
One color: Everything printed in that color is one suit, and you choose which.
Two colors: Two different suits, and you choose both.
Three colors: All three suits.
F: A flower. All eight are interchangeable.
D: A dragon, the one that belongs to that color's suit.
N, E, W, S: The winds: north, east, west, south.
0: A zero, played with the White Dragon, the soap.
C: Concealed. The hand must be finished without ever making an exposure.
X: Exposed.

The one that catches people out is the colors. A color does not name a suit. It says these tiles are the same suit as each other, and which suit is yours to choose.

Number combos

Hands built on a set of numbers. The card prints them as four separate sections: the year, where 2026 means a 2, a 0, a 2 and a 6; 2468, the even numbers, which players call evens; 13579, the odd numbers, called odds; and 369. Only the year section changes its numbers from card to card. The other three have been on every card since at least 2020, with new hands in them each time.

You are collecting named digits, so you know from the first look exactly which tiles you want and they never move. The zero is the White Dragon. The dragon that belongs to a suit often finishes the hand off.

Jokers: Usually plenty of room. These hands lean on pungs and kongs, and a joker stands in anywhere there are three or more.
How hard: The friendliest place for a beginner to start. The numbers are fixed, nothing is ambiguous, and you can count what is left by watching the discards.

On the school's card

2026 and dragons35 points

A kong of flowers, 2026 as four single tiles in the first suit, a kong of the dragon that goes with the second suit and a pair of the dragon that goes with the first suit.

Two suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other.

The zero is the White Dragon, the tile players call the soap. It is the one tile that stands in as a number, and it counts as a single here, so no joker can replace it.

A joker can stand in for any tile in the kong of flowers and the kong of dragons in the second suit. It can never stand in a single or a pair, so the 2026 in the first suit and the pair of dragons in the first suit must be real tiles.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam and the second suit as Crak:

2026 twiceconcealed · 50 points

2026 as four single tiles in the first suit, 2026 as four single tiles in the second suit and a sextet of flowers.

Two suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other.

The zero is the White Dragon, the tile players call the soap. It is the one tile that stands in as a number, and it counts as a single here, so no joker can replace it.

A joker can stand in for any tile in the sextet of flowers. It can never stand in a single or a pair, so the 2026 in the first suit and the 2026 in the second suit must be real tiles.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam and the second suit as Crak:

Any Like Numbers

The same number, in more than one suit. Three 5s of Bam, three 5s of Crak, three 5s of Dot. The card either names the number or lets you choose it.

You are not building a sequence, you are collecting one digit several ways. Picking the number is the whole decision, and you make it early by looking at what you were dealt and what is already on the table.

Jokers: Fine in the pungs and kongs, which is most of the hand.
How hard: Easy to see and harder to finish than it looks, because two or three suits means two or three separate races and any one of them can stall the hand.

On the school's card

like numbers 6-440 points

A kong of flowers, a sextet of the starting number in the first suit and a kong of the starting number in the second suit.

Two suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other. The numbers slide. Anything from 1 to 9 fits, so long as they keep the same spacing.

Every group here is three tiles or more, so a joker can stand in anywhere.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam and the second suit as Crak, with the numbers starting at 5:

like numbers 5-540 points

A kong of flowers, a quint of the starting number in the first suit and a quint of the starting number in the second suit.

Two suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other. The numbers slide. Anything from 1 to 9 fits, so long as they keep the same spacing.

Every group here is three tiles or more, so a joker can stand in anywhere.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam and the second suit as Crak, with the numbers starting at 5:

Addition Hands

Two numbers that add up to a third, laid out as a sum: kongs of two numbers and then their total, often with flowers. The card prints the plus and the equals sign, but they are only there to show the logic; the tiles are just numbers. Players call them math hands. Older cards named the section after its total, such as elevens. Some cards, the school's own among them, also put times hands here, where two numbers multiply to the total instead.

The numbers are exact. Only the ones printed make the sum, so there is no moving them and no choosing a different total, only choosing the suits where the card allows it.

Jokers: Fine in the kongs, which is most of the hand.
How hard: Straightforward once you see the sum. The catch is that this section is not on every card: it was printed in 2023 and 2024 and most years before 2020, and left off the 2020 to 2022, 2025 and 2026 cards, where a few sum hands turned up inside the evens, odds and 369 sections instead. Look for it each spring rather than expecting it.

On the school's card

4 times 8 makes 3230 points

A kong of flowers, a kong of 4s in the first suit, a kong of 8s in the second suit and 32 as two single tiles in the third suit.

Three suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other.

A joker can stand in for any tile in the kong of flowers, the kong of 4s in the first suit and the kong of 8s in the second suit. It can never stand in a single or a pair, so the 32 in the third suit must be real tiles.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam, the second suit as Crak and the third suit as Dot:

4 plus 3 makes 730 points

A pair of flowers, a kong of 4s in the first suit, a kong of 3s in the second suit and a kong of 7s in the third suit.

Three suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other.

A joker can stand in for any tile in the kong of 4s in the first suit, the kong of 3s in the second suit and the kong of 7s in the third suit. It can never stand in a single or a pair, so the pair of flowers must be real tiles.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam, the second suit as Crak and the third suit as Dot:

Quints

Five of a kind. There are only four of any tile in the set, so a quint can never be finished without at least one joker. That single fact is the whole character of the category.

You are counting jokers, not tiles. Eight exist. Watch how many are exposed on other racks, because those are gone unless you can redeem one.

Jokers: Required, not optional. A quint hand needs one joker at the very least and usually more.
How hard: Feast or famine. A quint hand with jokers early is a strong hand; the same hand with no jokers by the middle of the wall is usually abandoned, and knowing when to abandon it is the skill.

On the school's card

quints 5-5-445 points

A quint of the starting number in the first suit, a quint of the next number up in the first suit and a kong of the number two higher in the second suit.

Two suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other. The numbers slide. Anything from 1-2-3 to 7-8-9 fits, so long as they keep the same spacing.

Every group here is three tiles or more, so a joker can stand in anywhere.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam and the second suit as Crak, with the numbers starting at 4:

quints 6-5-350 points

A sextet of the starting number in the first suit, a quint of the next number up in the second suit and a pung of the number two higher in the second suit.

Two suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other. The numbers slide. Anything from 1-2-3 to 7-8-9 fits, so long as they keep the same spacing.

Every group here is three tiles or more, so a joker can stand in anywhere.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam and the second suit as Crak, with the numbers starting at 4:

Consecutive Run

Numbers in a row, which players just call runs. The card prints one example, such as 1 2 3 4 5, with the words any consecutive numbers. You may play it as 1 2 3 4 5 in one suit, or 2 3 4 5 6, or 5 6 7 8 9: any numbers in a row, as long as every one stays between 1 and 9.

The most forgiving category, because a run blocked at one end can often move to other numbers: if the 1s are gone, 2 3 4 5 6 may still be open. That is why it is the hand to fall back into when a plan dies in the middle of the game.

Jokers: Fine wherever the run asks for three or more.
How hard: Gentle to start, and it rewards a player who notices early that the numbers can shift rather than waiting on one tile that is never coming.

On the school's card

consecutive 4-4-2-240 points

A pair of flowers, a kong of the starting number in the suit, a kong of the next number up in the suit, a pair of the number two higher in the suit and a pair of the number three higher in the suit.

One suit, and which one is your choice. The numbers slide. Anything from 1-2-3-4 to 6-7-8-9 fits, so long as they keep the same spacing.

A joker can stand in for any tile in the kong of the starting number and the kong of the next number up. It can never stand in a single or a pair, so the pair of flowers, the pair of the number two higher and the pair of the number three higher must be real tiles.

One way to fill it, taking the suit as Bam, with the numbers starting at 4:

consecutive 3-3-3-330 points

A pair of flowers, a pung of the starting number in the suit, a pung of the next number up in the suit, a pung of the number two higher in the suit and a pung of the number three higher in the suit.

One suit, and which one is your choice. The numbers slide. Anything from 1-2-3-4 to 6-7-8-9 fits, so long as they keep the same spacing.

A joker can stand in for any tile in the pung of the starting number, the pung of the next number up, the pung of the number two higher and the pung of the number three higher. It can never stand in a single or a pair, so the pair of flowers must be real tiles.

One way to fill it, taking the suit as Bam, with the numbers starting at 4:

Winds and Dragons

Hands built from honors instead of numbers: north, east, west and south, and the three dragons. Green goes with Bam, red with Crak, and white, the soap, with Dot.

There are no suits or numbers to choose, so a wind and dragon hand is the same hand for everyone who tries it. That cuts both ways: you always know what you need, and so does anyone watching your discards.

Jokers: Fine in pungs and kongs.
How hard: The supply is small and fixed. Four of each wind, four of each dragon, and the discards tell you early whether the hand is alive. That makes it an honest category: it does not string you along.

On the school's card

winds 4-4-655 points

A kong of Easts, a kong of Souths and a sextet of Norths.

No suits to choose: this hand is all honors and flowers.

Every group here is three tiles or more, so a joker can stand in anywhere.

One way to fill it:

winds 4-4-3-340 points

A kong of Wests, a kong of Easts, a pung of Norths and a pung of Souths.

No suits to choose: this hand is all honors and flowers.

Every group here is three tiles or more, so a joker can stand in anywhere.

One way to fill it:

Singles and Pairs

Every group is one tile or two. Nothing in the hand is a pung or a kong, and because a joker may never stand in a single or a pair, no joker may stand anywhere in it.

Fourteen real tiles, every one of them exact. You cannot claim a discard along the way either, since a discard can only be claimed to complete three or more. Almost everything has to come off the wall.

Jokers: None. Not one, anywhere in the hand.
How hard: The hardest thing on the card, which is why it pays the most. Worth learning to recognize even if you never play one, because a player who has made no exposures at all by the middle of the game may well be on one.

On the school's card

4 pairs spread with flowersconcealed · 50 points

A pair of the starting number in the first suit, a pair of the number two higher in the first suit, a pair of the number four higher in the second suit, a pair of the number six higher in the second suit and a sextet of flowers.

Two suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other. The numbers slide. Anything from 1-3-5-7 to 3-5-7-9 fits, so long as they keep the same spacing.

A joker can stand in for any tile in the sextet of flowers. It can never stand in a single or a pair, so the pair of the starting number in the first suit, the pair of the number two higher in the first suit, the pair of the number four higher in the second suit and the pair of the number six higher in the second suit must be real tiles.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam and the second suit as Crak, with the numbers starting at 2:

4 pairs consecutive with flowersconcealed · 50 points

A pair of the starting number in the first suit, a pair of the next number up in the first suit, a pair of the number two higher in the second suit, a pair of the number three higher in the second suit and a sextet of flowers.

Two suits, and which ones are your choice. They only have to be different from each other. The numbers slide. Anything from 1-2-3-4 to 6-7-8-9 fits, so long as they keep the same spacing.

A joker can stand in for any tile in the sextet of flowers. It can never stand in a single or a pair, so the pair of the starting number in the first suit, the pair of the next number up in the first suit, the pair of the number two higher in the second suit and the pair of the number three higher in the second suit must be real tiles.

One way to fill it, taking the first suit as Bam and the second suit as Crak, with the numbers starting at 4:

Questions

What do the colors on a mah jongg card mean?: A color does not name a suit. It says that everything printed in that color is the same suit as each other, and which suit is your choice. One color means one suit, two colors mean two different suits, three colors mean all three.
What is a pung, a kong and a quint?: A pung is three of the same tile, a kong is four, and a quint is five. A pair is two and a single is one. A quint always needs at least one joker, because only four of any tile exist.
Can a joker be used for a pair?: No. A joker may stand in for any tile in a group of three or more, so a pung, kong, quint or sextet. It may never stand in for a single tile or for any part of a pair. That is why no joker can be used anywhere in a singles and pairs hand.
What is the soap in mah jongg?: The soap is the White Dragon. It is the one tile that plays as a number: in a hand built on a year or another set of numbers, the soap is the zero.
Does the mah jongg card change every year?: Yes. The National Mah Jongg League publishes a new card each spring and the hands on it change. The sections mostly do not: the year, 2468, Any Like Numbers, Quints, Consecutive Run, 13579, Winds and Dragons, 369 and Singles and Pairs have been on every card since at least 2020. Addition Hands come and go. Learning the kinds of hand is what carries from one card to the next.
What are addition hands in mah jongg?: Hands laid out as a sum: two numbers and the number they add up to, often with flowers. The card prints a plus and an equals sign to show the logic, but the tiles are just numbers. Players also call them math hands. The section is not on every card: it was printed in 2023 and 2024 and left off the 2025 and 2026 cards.
Which dragon goes with which suit?: Green goes with Bam, red goes with Crak, and white, the soap, goes with Dot. Where a card prints a D, it means the dragon belonging to whichever suit that color turned out to be.

Where to practice this

Knowing the six is the map. Using them is a different skill, and it is the one the drills score: which line do these tiles make, what does this line still need, which three would you pass.

Start drilling The lesson on reading a card How the game is played