The same tiles are used in four-player mahjong and in mahjong solitaire. In solitaire you only need to know which tiles match: identical tiles match, and so do any two flowers or any two seasons. The names help when you talk about the game, and the meanings are part of the fun.
The three suits
Most of the set is three suits numbered 1 to 9, with four copies of every tile: 108 tiles in all. On this site each one has its number in the top corner, so you never have to count dots or read a character.
Dots
Dots are also called circles or coins. Each circle stands for a copper coin with a square hole in the middle, the kind once used across China, and the number of circles is the tile’s number.
Bamboo
The bamboo sticks are usually explained as strings of those coins, threaded together. The 1 of Bamboo is the odd one out: on most sets it shows a bird, often a sparrow or a peacock, rather than a single stick. In American mah-jongg the suit is called Bams.
Characters
Each Characters tile shows a Chinese number from one to nine above the character 萬 (wàn), which means ten thousand. Together they read “one ten-thousand”, “two ten-thousands”, and so on. The suit is also called Cracks, or Craks in American mah-jongg.
The honours
The honour tiles have no numbers. There are four copies of each of the seven, 28 tiles in all.
Winds
The four winds are the four directions: 東 (dōng) East, 南 (nán) South, 西 (xī) West and 北 (běi) North. In the four-player game, each player sits at one of the winds. This site adds the letter E, S, W or N in the corner.
Dragons
The Red Dragon shows 中 (zhōng), “middle” or “centre”. The Green Dragon shows 發 (fā), from a phrase that means “to become rich”. The White Dragon is a plain tile, often drawn, as here, with a blue frame; on some sets it is simply blank.
Flowers and seasons
The last eight tiles come once each. In mahjong solitaire, any flower matches any other flower, and any season matches any other season, which is the one place where two different pictures make a pair.
Flowers
The four flowers are the plum blossom, the orchid, the chrysanthemum and bamboo, known in Chinese art as the Four Gentlemen. Here they share a green frame.
Seasons
The four seasons are spring, summer, autumn and winter. Here they share a blue frame, with a sprout, the sun, a falling leaf and a snowflake.
How many tiles there are
- Dots, Bamboo and Characters: 9 tiles each, four copies of each, 108 tiles.
- Winds: 4 tiles, four copies of each, 16 tiles.
- Dragons: 3 tiles, four copies of each, 12 tiles.
- Flowers and seasons: 8 tiles, one of each.
That makes 144, the number of tiles in the classic Turtle layout. Sets for American mah-jongg add jokers, which mahjong solitaire does not use.