Mahjong Guide ： How to Play 麻将 (Májiàng) for Beginners

A complete beginner's guide to playing Mahjong. Learn the basic rules, tile types (3 suits & honors), key terms (Chi, Peng, Gang), and how to form a winning hand of 4 sets + 1 pair. Practice with teachers at That's Mandarin.

Tags:

• Mahjong
• 麻将
• Beginner's Guide
• Chinese Games
• How to Play Mahjong

Can you play mahjong?

And how much do you know about the game?

麻将

májiàng

It's an amazing game to play with friends, family, and strangers alike.

There's nothing like the sound of tiles clicking and friends shouting "Peng!" across the table.

After hosting so many mahjong nights at That's Mandarin, we've put together a complete guide for mahjong beginners — so you can be ready for the next game!

What is Mahjong?

              

麻将 (májiàng) is a Chinese tile-based game that was invented about 150 years ago.

Mahjong Tiles

There are 36 different tiles in 麻将 (májiàng), and each tile has 4 duplicates.

So the game is played with a set of 144 tiles.

Mahjong Players

There are normally 4 players in the game.

Goal

The goal is to create order out of chaos and collect a winning hand with matching sets of tiles. The first player to do so wins.

How to Play

              

Mahjong rules may vary by region, but here are the basics:

Step 1. 4 players shuffle the tiles together.

Step 2. Players roll the dice to determine the dealer — the player with the highest number goes first. Then the dealer rolls the dice again to choose how many tiles to put aside.

Step 3. The players create 4 walls. Every wall is formed with 34 tiles in 2 rows.

Once the walls are ready, the players (starting from the dealer) start drawing their tiles clockwise, grabbing 4 tiles at a time, 3 times.

After that regular players grab 1 more tile; the dealer grabs 2.

Step 4. At the beginning the game, each player has 13 tiles, and the dealer has 14 tiles. The dealer starts the game by throwing 1 tile out.

(Which tile to throw? Find out below 👇)

Step 5. The next player takes 1 tile from the deck. The player can either keep the tile to form a set of three, or discard it if it's not useful.

Step 6. Then the next player takes his/her turn.

Key Vocab

庄家 (zhuāngjiā)・dealer

上家 (shàngjiā)・previous player (left side)

下家 (xiàjiā) ・next player (right side)

What to Collect?

              

To win the game, you should be the first to collect:

4 sets of 3 tiles + 1 pair of identical tiles

Mahjong Tiles

              

There are 144 tiles in the classic mahjong set that are based on Chinese symbols and characters. These tiles can be divided into 5 groups:

- 3 numbered groups known as "Suits",

- 2 unnumbered groups known as "Honors".

THE 3 SUITS

There are 3 numbered groups of tiles known as "Suits".

Each suit is numbered from 1 to 9.

01. Bamboos

条 (tiáo), "Bamboos", or "Sticks".

02. Dots

饼 (bǐng), "Dots", or "Wheels".

Note: Literally, they are "pancakes" - easy to remember!

03. Characters

万 (wàn), "Characters", or "Cracks".

HONORS

There are also 7 unnumbered tiles, known as "Honors".

They can be divided into 2 groups - "Winds" and "Dragons":

04. Winds

东 (dōng) | East

南 (nán) | South

西 (xī) | West

北 (běi) | North

05. Dragons

发财 (fācái) | Green Dragon

红中 (hóngzhōng) | Red Dragon

白板 (báibǎn) | White Dragon

 NOTE 

In other mahjong variations, there can be a set of 166 tiles, which include other groups such as Flowers and Seasons, but we play the variation without them.

Types of Sets

              

Now that you know the tiles, let's look at the types of sets you can collect to win.

As you already know, the goal of the game is to collect 4 groups and 1 pair:

The pair (yellow) has to be made of identical tiles (AA).

The groups (grey) can be either made of identical tiles (AAA), or ordered ones (ABC).

Depending on which combination you choose to build, you will need a different verb to describe it.

You can make 3 types of sets: Peng, Gang, and Chi.

If someone throws a tile and you can use it to complete the set, you have to shout one of these names.

01. Chi

吃

chī

to claim a tile to complete a sequence

(3 tiles of the same suit)

NOTE: "A sequence" means a group of 3 numbered tiles: 1,2,3 or 3,4,5, and so on. For example, 6,7,8 of sticks. Keep in mind that only the next player can "chi" - not everyone at the table.

02. Peng

碰

pèng

to claim a tile to complete a set of 3 identical tiles

NOTE: Anyone can do this action anytime, even out of turn. In this case the game continues counter-clockwise from the next player. Also, if 2 people want to "chi" and "peng" the same tile simultaneously, "peng" has the priority.

03. Gang

杠

gàng

to claim a tile to complete a set of 4 identical tiles

NOTE: As a beginner, you don't even need this. This is used in more advanced games.

How to Win

              

There are 2 ways to win:

1. You can claim the last tile you need from another player's discard;

2. You can draw it from the wall.

When you complete your hand, shout:

胡啦！

Hú la!

I won!

Mahjong Origins

              

The actual origins of Mahjong are unclear.

A popular legend says that Confucius invented the game, inspired by his love of birds.

However, written records of mahjong only date back to the 1870s. Before Mahjong there were similar card games, like yezipai, which dates back to the Tang Dynasty.

It was played with 32 cards made of ivory or wood. As time passed the number of cards increased and the game became more complicated. By the late 1800s, the cards were replaced with tiles.

One popular story attributes the reason to a sailor, who had his cards blown away while playing the game on the ship.

Practice

with Teachers

              

To discuss mahjong with a Chinese teacher

(or to learn how to play!),

book a free trial class with That's Mandarin 👇

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