Mahjong Tile Names by Style: American, Hong Kong, Riichi

The same mahjong tile can have different names, depending on the style. American players say Bam, Crak, and Dot. Hong Kong players often say Bamboo, Character, and Dot. Riichi players use Japanese names: souzu, manzu, and pinzu. The White Dragon is Soap in American play. Knowing these terms helps you follow a teacher or a video, even if you switch between styles.

The suits

Suit	American	Hong Kong	Riichi
Bamboo	Bam	Bamboo, or Sticks	souzu
Character	Crak	Character	manzu
Circle	Dot	Dot, or Circle	pinzu

Five Bam, Five Crak, and Five Dot. In Riichi, these are written 5s, 5m, and 5p.

The honors

Tile	American	Hong Kong	Riichi
East	East	East Wind	ton
South	South	South Wind	nan
West	West	West Wind	shaa
North	North	North Wind	pei
Red Dragon	Red	Red Dragon	chun
Green Dragon	Green	Green Dragon	hatsu
White Dragon	Soap	White Dragon	haku

Bonus tiles

Tile	American	Hong Kong	Riichi
Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo	Flower	Flower	Not used
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter	Flower	Season	Not used
Joker	Joker	Not used	Not used

The set words

Set	American	Hong Kong	Riichi
Two identical tiles	Pair	Pair, or Eyes	Pair (toitsu)
Three identical tiles	Pung	Pung, or Pong	Pon (when called), triplet
Four identical tiles	Kong	Kong	Kan
Run of three	Not used	Chow	Chi (when called), run
Five identical tiles	Quint	Not used	Not used

Writing tiles in short

Riichi players often write hands in a shorthand. Numbers come first, and a letter gives the suit: m for manzu, p for pinzu, and s for souzu. So 123m means One, Two, and Three of Characters. Honors are often 1z through 7z. You will see this in online guides.

Common mix-ups

Bamboo the suit and Bamboo the flower are different tiles.
Sticks usually means Bamboo.
Pong and pung are the same thing.
Circles and dots are the same suit.

Tile Names by Variant