How to Read a Mahjong Card (the NMJL Card Explained)
| Level | Beginner |
|---|
The National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) card lists every winning hand allowed in American mahjong for the year, and each line on it is one 14-tile hand. The numbers and letters are tiles, the colors tell you how many suits the hand uses, the X or C says whether you can call discards, and the number at the end is what the hand is worth.
The League publishes a new card every year and mails it around April 1. You need the current card to play American mahjong, because only its hands count as wins. A standard card costs $14 and a large-print card $15 from the National Mah Jongg League. We don't reproduce any hands from the card here; the examples below show how the notation works.
What do the colors on a mahjong card mean?
The colors don't stand for particular suits. Within one line, every tile printed in the same color must come from the same suit, and the number of colors in a line tells you how many suits the hand uses.
- One color: the whole hand uses one suit, and you choose which.
- Two colors: two different suits.
- Three colors: all three suits: craks, bams and dots.
Blue doesn't mean dots and red doesn't mean craks. A blue group can be any suit, as long as everything else in blue matches it.
What do the numbers and letters on the card mean?
Each number or letter is one tile. A run of the same character, like 222, means that many copies of that tile.
On the card | Tile |
|---|---|
1 to 9 | A numbered tile in a suit (craks, bams or dots) |
N, E, W, S | North, East, West and South winds |
D | A dragon |
F | A flower |
0 | The white dragon (soap), standing in for a zero |
The 0 shows up in year hands. A hand built on the year 2026 spells the year out in tiles, with soap as the zero:
How are groups of tiles written on the card?
Each cluster of identical characters is one group: a pair is 2 tiles, a pung 3, a kong 4, a quint 5 and a sextet 6.
Some groups that look like one unit are really single tiles. NEWS is four different winds, and a year like 2026 is four separate tiles, so neither counts as a pung or kong.
That matters for jokers. A joker can stand in for any tile in a pung, kong, quint or sextet, but never in a single or a pair.
How do dragons match suits on the card?
Each dragon belongs to one suit: green goes with bams, red with craks, and white (soap) with dots. When a dragon is printed in the same color as other tiles in the line, it must be that suit's matching dragon.
When a dragon is printed in a different color from the rest of the line, it's an opposite dragon. It must match whichever suit the hand doesn't otherwise use.
What do X and C mean on the mahjong card?
An X after a hand means you may expose groups, by calling discards to complete pungs, kongs and quints. A C means the hand is concealed: you must build it from tiles you draw yourself, except for the final winning tile.
Concealed hands are harder to complete, so the card usually gives them more points.
What do the point values mean?
The number at the end of each line is what that hand pays when you win with it. On recent cards, most hands are worth 25 to 35 points, and the hardest sections are worth more.
Many tables also pay bonuses, for example for a hand without jokers or for drawing the winning tile yourself. Check your table's scoring before you start.
What do the notes in parentheses mean?
The note after each hand clarifies what's allowed. It can limit the hand to exactly the numbers printed, or free it up with wording like "any number, any suit, any dragon."
Read the note every time. Two lines can look almost identical and differ only in their notes.
What are the sections on the card?
Hands are grouped into sections by theme. Most years include:
- The year: hands built on the current year's digits
- 2468: even numbers only
- Any Like Numbers: the same number across suits
- Quints: hands with five-of-a-kind groups
- Consecutive Run: numbers in sequence
- 13579: odd numbers only
- Winds and Dragons
- 369: threes, sixes and nines
- Singles and Pairs: hands made only of single tiles and pairs, with no jokers allowed
Some years add addition or multiplication hands. The exact hands change every year, which is why players buy a new card each spring.
How do you pick a hand from the card?
Compare your tiles with the card and look for lines that already use the most of them. Count how many tiles each candidate line needs, and keep two or three options open while you pass tiles in the Charleston.
- Start with your pairs, pungs and jokers. They narrow the card fastest.
- Check the colors next: a one-suit hand needs most of your tiles in a single suit.
- Watch the notes and the X or C before you commit.
New to the game itself? Our beginner's guide to the tiles covers every tile in the set. Shopping for the card or a holder? See our mahjong gift ideas.
Frequently asked questions
What do the colors mean on the mahjong card?
The colors don't stand for specific suits. Within one hand, tiles printed in the same color must be the same suit, and the number of colors tells you how many suits the hand uses.
What does X and C mean on the mahjong card?
X means the hand may be exposed: you can call discards to complete groups. C means the hand is concealed: you must draw every tile yourself except the final winning tile, and it usually pays more points.
What does 0 mean on the mahjong card?
A 0 is the white dragon, called soap. It stands in for a zero, most often in hands built on the current year.
Can you use a joker in a pair?
No. In American mahjong a joker can replace any tile in a pung, kong, quint or sextet, but never in a single or a pair.
When does the new mahjong card come out?
The National Mah Jongg League mails the new card around April 1 each year. A standard card costs $14 and a large-print card $15.