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What Are Winds and Dragons in Mahjong? The 28 Tiles Explained

· 5 min read

Winds and dragons are the 28 tiles in American mahjong that aren't numbered. There are four winds (East, South, West, and North) and three dragons (Red, Green, and White), with four copies of each.

They're also the tiles beginners are most likely to squint at. They have letters and pictures where the other tiles have numbers, and nobody hands you a glossary. Here's the glossary.

What are the four winds?

East, South, West, and North. Each one appears four times, which makes 16 wind tiles in all.

Winds are not part of any suit. They're their own thing, and a group of them is made from identical tiles, like three Norths or four Souths. A joker can fill in for one in a group of three or more, the same as any other tile.

One thing that trips people up. East is also the name of a seat. The player called East takes 14 tiles instead of 13 and discards first. That's a seat at the table and has nothing to do with the East tile in your rack. Same word, two jobs. Our guide to who goes first covers how East gets picked.

What are the three dragons?

Red, Green, and White. Four of each, so 12 dragon tiles.

The dragons are the winds' flashier cousins, and each one has a suit it goes with:

The White Dragon has a nickname that you'll hear at every table, which is the soap. It's a blank-looking tile, so it gets a lot of jokes. If you've been wondering about it, what a soap is has the whole story.

If the pairings feel random, start with the easy one. Green is bamboo, so Green Dragon goes with Bams. If you'd like a refresher on the suits, bams, cracks, and dots is the place.

How many winds and dragons are there?

Seven kinds, 28 tiles. Four winds times four copies is 16. Three dragons times four copies is 12.

Every one of those tiles exists in exactly four copies, which matters in play. If you're holding two Green Dragons and you've seen another one discarded, there's one left in the world. Counting is a skill you build one hand at a time, and counting tiles walks through it.

Can you use jokers with winds and dragons?

Yes, in a group of three or more. A joker can stand in for a wind or a dragon in a pung, a kong, or a quint. It can never stand in for a single or a pair, which is true of every tile in the set.

That's the part to remember about a wind or dragon pair. If you're holding two matching tiles, they're two real tiles, and if one goes missing, a joker can't replace it. Our post on protecting your pairs goes into when to hang on.

Why bother learning the names?

Because you'll say them out loud. When you claim a discard, you name the tile, and naming it wrong can cost you. A wind or a dragon is an easy one to stumble on in your first few games, since you're trying to remember "that one with the picture." Our guide to a misnamed tile explains what happens when it goes sideways.

The fix is boring and works. Say the name in your head when you pick the tile up. East, South, Green, Red. By the fourth game it's automatic.

Do winds and dragons have numbers?

No. They're named tiles. That's why they look different, and why the first few games can feel like you're reading a different alphabet. Give it a few hands. By the end of your first afternoon you'll spot a North across the table, and by the end of the second you'll stop thinking about it.

Winds and dragons quick reference

You'll know them on sight

Everybody learned these the same way, by sitting down and asking what that one was. Ask. Somebody will be glad you did.

When you're ready for a full walk through a game, our how to play guide is the next stop.