Chinese Official Mahjong

Last updated: 2025-02-22

Overview

Chinese Official Mahjong (full name: "Chinese Mahjong Competition Rules") was established by China's General Administration of Sport in 1998 and is the official competitive ruleset adopted by the World Mahjong Organization (WMO). Known for its rich variety of scoring patterns, it features 81 fan patterns ranging from 1 to 88 fan, emphasizing pattern combination and strategic play. It is one of the most competitive mahjong rulesets.

Key Features of Chinese Official Mahjong

Uses 144 tiles (including 8 flower tiles)
81 scoring patterns with rich strategy
Minimum 8 fan required to win
Flower tile replacement mechanism
Non-stacking principle (some patterns are mutually exclusive)
World competitive standard rules

Basic Setup

Tiles Used

Chinese Official Mahjong uses 144 tiles:

Characters (m): 1–9 Man, 4 of each, 36 total
Dots (p): 1–9 Pin, 4 of each, 36 total
Bamboos (s): 1–9 Sou, 4 of each, 36 total
Wind tiles (z1–z4): East, South, West, North, 4 of each, 16 total
Dragon tiles (z5–z7): Chun, Hatsu, Haku, 4 of each, 12 total
Flower tiles: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum, 1 of each, 8 total

Complete Numbered Tiles

Characters 1–9, Dots 1–9, Bamboos 1–9

Complete Honor Tiles

Winds: East (z1), South (z2), West (z3), North (z4); Dragons: Chun (z5), Hatsu (z6), Haku (z7)

Flower Tiles

Flower tiles are divided into two groups: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter (seasonal) and Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum (botanical).

When drawn, flower tiles are immediately revealed and a replacement tile is drawn from the end of the wall
Each flower tile counts as 1 fan
Flowers correspond to seats (Spring/Plum → East, Summer/Orchid → South, Autumn/Bamboo → West, Winter/Chrysanthemum → North)
Collecting a complete set (all seasons or all botanicals) earns extra fan

Starting Setup

| Item | Description | |------|-------------| | Starting points | 500 points each | | Rounds | Typically 16 hands (4 rounds) | | Minimum fan to win | 8 fan | | Dealer | Repeats on win or tenpai draw |

Game Flow

Opening

Dice roll to determine dealer and wall break position
Deal: Dealer gets 14 tiles, non-dealers get 13 each
Flower replacement: Players with flower tiles reveal them and draw replacements
Dealer starts

Turn Cycle

Draw a tile (or call)
Discard a tile
Other players may chi/pon/kan/win
Repeat until someone wins or the wall is exhausted

Melding Rules

Chi

Take one tile from the player to your left to form a sequence with two tiles from your hand.

Example: Chi

With 3s and 4s in hand, you can chi when the left player discards 2s or 5s.

Pon

Take one tile from any player to form a triplet with two identical tiles from your hand.

Example: Pon

With two Hatsu (z6), you can pon when any player discards Hatsu.

Kan

Open kan: Hold three identical tiles; kan when someone discards the fourth
Closed kan: Hold four identical tiles; declare closed kan
Added kan: Draw the fourth tile for an already-called pon; upgrade to kan

Priority

Win > Kan > Pon > Chi

Winning Conditions

Basic Hand Shapes

Standard: 4 sets + 1 pair
Seven Pairs: 7 pairs
Thirteen Orphans: One of each of the 13 terminals/honors + one duplicate
All Types / Seven Stars Unmatched: Special irregular hands

Minimum 8 Fan

Chinese Official Mahjong requires a minimum of 8 fan to win. Patterns can be combined additively.

💡 Common Ways to Reach 8 Fan

Half Flush (6 fan) + Seat Wind Triplet (2 fan) = 8 fan
All Triplets (6 fan) + Dragon Triplet (2 fan) = 8 fan
Full Flush (24 fan) alone is enough
Seven Pairs (24 fan) alone is enough
Combining multiple small patterns to reach 8 fan

Ways to Win

Self-draw (Tsumo): Draw the winning tile from the wall (+1 fan for self-draw)
Discard win: Win off another player's discard

Complete Scoring Patterns

Chinese Official Mahjong has 81 scoring patterns. Listed below from highest to lowest fan.

88 Fan

Big Four Winds

Triplets or quads of all four wind tiles (East, South, West, North).

Triplets of East, South, West, North + 5m pair. Big Four Winds. 88 fan.

Big Three Dragons

Triplets or quads of all three dragon tiles (Chun, Hatsu, Haku).

Triplets of all three dragons. Big Three Dragons. 88 fan.

All Green

Hand consists entirely of 2s, 3s, 4s, 6s, 8s of Bamboos and Hatsu (z6).

All green tiles. All Green. 88 fan.

Nine Gates

1112345678999 of a single suit + any tile of the same suit. Closed hand only.

Nine Gates in Characters, winning on 9m. 88 fan.

Four Kongs

Four kan declarations.

Seven Shifted Pairs

Seven consecutive pairs in the same suit.

Dots 1–7, each paired. Seven Shifted Pairs. 88 fan.

Thirteen Orphans

One of each of the 13 terminal and honor tiles (m1, m9, p1, p9, s1, s9, z1–z7) + one duplicate.

One of each terminal/honor + Haku (z7) pair. Thirteen Orphans. 88 fan.

64 Fan

All Terminals

Hand consists entirely of 1s and 9s (triplets/quads + pair), no honors.

All 1s and 9s. All Terminals. 64 fan.

Little Four Winds

Three wind triplets (or quads) + one wind pair.

East, South, West triplets + North pair + Characters sequence. Little Four Winds. 64 fan.

Little Three Dragons

Two dragon triplets (or quads) + one dragon pair.

Chun and Hatsu triplets + Haku pair. Little Three Dragons. 64 fan.

All Honors

Hand consists entirely of honor tiles.

All honor tiles. All Honors. 64 fan.

Four Concealed Triplets

Four concealed triplets (no open sets or kans). Closed hand only.

Four concealed triplets + pair. Four Concealed Triplets. 64 fan.

Pure Double Chow

Two sets of 123 and 789 in the same suit + pair of 5 in that suit.

Dots 123×2 + 789×2 + 55 pair. Pure Double Chow. 64 fan.

48 Fan

Quadruple Chow

Four identical sequences in the same suit.

Characters 123 four times + pair. Quadruple Chow. 48 fan.

Four Shifted Pungs

Four consecutive triplets in the same suit (e.g., 2222-3333-4444-5555).

Bamboos 2, 3, 4, 5 triplets + 1m pair. Four Shifted Pungs. 48 fan.

32 Fan

Four Shifted Chows

Four sequences in the same suit with equal arithmetic step (step of 1 or 2).

Step of 1:

Characters 123→234→345→456, step 1. Four Shifted Chows. 32 fan.

Step of 2:

Dots 123→345→567→789, step 2. Four Shifted Chows. 32 fan.

Three Kongs

Three kan declarations (open or closed). 32 fan.

All Terminals and Honors

Hand consists entirely of terminals (1, 9) and honor tiles.

All terminals and honors. All Terminals and Honors. 32 fan.

24 Fan

Seven Pairs

Seven pairs forming a special hand pattern.

Seven pairs. Seven Pairs. 24 fan.

Seven Stars Unmatched

One of each of the 7 honor tiles + non-adjacent numbered tiles from each suit.

All 7 honors + non-adjacent tiles from each suit. Seven Stars Unmatched. 24 fan.

All Even Pungs

Hand consists entirely of even-numbered (2, 4, 6, 8) triplets and pair.

All even triplets + 8p pair. All Even Pungs. 24 fan.

Full Flush

Hand consists entirely of one suit.

All Bamboos. Full Flush. 24 fan.

Pure Triple Chow

Three identical sequences in the same suit.

Dots 123 three times. Pure Triple Chow. 24 fan.

Pure Shifted Pungs

Three consecutive triplets in the same suit.

Characters 3, 4, 5 triplets. Pure Shifted Pungs. 24 fan.

Upper Tiles

Hand consists entirely of 7, 8, 9 tiles.

All 7, 8, 9 tiles. Upper Tiles. 24 fan.

Middle Tiles

Hand consists entirely of 4, 5, 6 tiles.

All 4, 5, 6 tiles. Middle Tiles. 24 fan.

Lower Tiles

Hand consists entirely of 1, 2, 3 tiles.

All 1, 2, 3 tiles. Lower Tiles. 24 fan.

16 Fan

Pure Straight

123 + 456 + 789 sequences in the same suit.

Characters 123+456+789. Pure Straight. 16 fan.

Three-Suited Terminal Chows

Two suits each have 123 + 789 sequences, and the third suit has a pair of 5.

Characters and Dots each have 123+789, Bamboos 55 pair. Three-Suited Terminal Chows. 16 fan.

Pure Shifted Chows

Three sequences in the same suit with equal arithmetic step.

Bamboos 123→234→345, step 1. Pure Shifted Chows. 16 fan.

All Fives

Every set and the pair contains a 5.

Every set contains 5. All Fives. 16 fan.

Triple Pung

The same numbered triplet in all three suits.

111 triplets in all three suits. Triple Pung. 16 fan.

Three Concealed Pungs

Three concealed triplets.

Three concealed triplets + Characters sequence + Chun pair. Three Concealed Pungs. 16 fan.

12 Fan

All Types Unmatched

Non-adjacent numbered tiles from each suit + some honor tiles (not Seven Stars).

Non-adjacent tiles from each suit + honors. All Types Unmatched. 12 fan.

Knitted Straight

Three suits contributing 147 / 258 / 369 combinations (plus 1 set + 1 pair).

Characters 147 + Dots 258 + Bamboos 369 = Knitted Straight (12 fan) + set + pair.

Upper Four

Hand consists entirely of 6, 7, 8, 9 tiles.

All 6, 7, 8, 9 tiles. Upper Four. 12 fan.

Lower Four

Hand consists entirely of 1, 2, 3, 4 tiles.

All 1, 2, 3, 4 tiles. Lower Four. 12 fan.

Big Three Winds

Three wind triplets.

East, South, West triplets. Big Three Winds. 12 fan.

8 Fan

Last Tile Draw

Win by self-drawing the last tile from the wall. 8 fan.

Last Tile Claim

Win off the last discarded tile after the wall is exhausted. 8 fan.

Out with Replacement Tile

Win by self-drawing the replacement tile after declaring kan. 8 fan.

Robbing the Kong

Win by claiming the tile another player uses for an added kan. 8 fan.

6 Fan

All Triplets

Four triplets (or quads) + one pair.

Four triplets + pair. All Triplets. 6 fan.

Half Flush

Hand consists entirely of one suit + honor tiles.

All Characters + honor tiles. Half Flush. 6 fan.

Mixed Triple Chow

The same numbered sequence in all three suits.

123 sequence in all three suits. Mixed Triple Chow. 6 fan.

Mixed Shifted Pungs

Three suits each have a triplet of consecutive numbers.

Characters 3, Dots 4, Bamboos 5 triplets. Mixed Shifted Pungs. 6 fan.

All Types

Characters, Dots, Bamboos, Wind tiles, and Dragon tiles — all five types present.

Characters + Dots + Bamboos + Winds + Dragons all present. All Types. 6 fan.

Melded Hand

Fully melded (all chi/pon/kan), one tile remaining, winning off another's discard. 6 fan.

4 Fan

Outside Hand

Every set and the pair contains a terminal (1 or 9).

Every set contains 1 or 9. Outside Hand. 4 fan.

Fully Concealed Hand

Closed hand, self-draw win. 4 fan.

Two Melded Kongs

Two open kan declarations. 4 fan.

Last Tile

Win on the very last available copy of a tile (other 3 already visible). 4 fan.

2 Fan

Dragon Pung

A triplet or quad of Chun (z5), Hatsu (z6), or Haku (z7). 2 fan each.

Chun triplet. Dragon Pung. 2 fan.

Prevalent Wind

A triplet of the current round wind tile. 2 fan.

Seat Wind

A triplet of your own seat wind tile. 2 fan.

Concealed Hand

No chi, pon, or open kan. 2 fan.

All Chows

Four sequences + non-yakuhai pair + two-sided wait. 2 fan.

Four sequences + non-yakuhai pair. All Chows. 2 fan.

Tile Hog

Four identical tiles in hand without declaring kan. 2 fan.

Double Pung

Two suits each have a triplet of the same number. 2 fan.

Characters 3 and Dots 3 triplets. Double Pung. 2 fan.

Two Concealed Pungs

Two concealed triplets. 2 fan.

Concealed Kong

One closed kan. 2 fan.

All Simples

No terminals (1, 9) or honor tiles. 2 fan.

All 2–8 tiles. All Simples. 2 fan.

1 Fan

Pure Double Chow

Two identical sequences in the same suit.

Characters 123 twice. Pure Double Chow. 1 fan.

Mixed Double Chow

Two different suits each have an identical numbered sequence.

Characters 456 and Dots 456. Mixed Double Chow. 1 fan.

Short Straight

Six consecutive tiles in the same suit (two adjacent sequences).

Characters 123+456, 6 consecutive. Short Straight. 1 fan.

Two Terminal Chows

123 + 789 in the same suit.

Characters 123 + 789. Two Terminal Chows. 1 fan.

Pung of Terminals or Honors

A triplet of 1, 9, or honor tiles. 1 fan.

Melded Kong

One open kan. 1 fan.

One Voided Suit

Hand uses only two of the three numbered suits (may include honors).

No Honors

No honor tiles in hand. 1 fan.

Edge Wait

Winning on an edge wait (12 waiting for 3, or 89 waiting for 7). 1 fan.

Closed Wait

Winning on a closed wait (e.g., 13 waiting for 2, or 46 waiting for 5). 1 fan.

Single Wait

Winning on a single tile wait for the pair. 1 fan.

Self-Drawn

Drawing the winning tile yourself. 1 fan.

Scoring Rules

Fan Calculation

Chinese Official Mahjong score = sum of all applicable fan patterns.

Non-Stacking Principle

Some patterns are mutually exclusive and cannot be counted together. For example:

Full Flush (24 fan) already includes One Voided Suit (1 fan), so One Voided Suit is not counted separately
Seven Pairs (24 fan) and Concealed Hand (2 fan) do not stack
All Triplets (6 fan) and included Double Pung (2 fan) etc. do not stack
Big Four Winds (88 fan) already includes Little Four Winds (64 fan), so they don't stack

Score Settlement

Self-draw: Each of the other three players pays (fan + 8) points
Discard win: The discarder pays (fan + 8) points, the other two each pay 8 points

Key Differences from Riichi Mahjong

| Item | Chinese Official | Riichi Mahjong | |------|------------------|----------------| | Tile count | 144 (with flower tiles) | 136 (no flower tiles) | | Pattern count | 81 patterns | ~40 yaku | | Minimum to win | 8 fan | 1 han (need yaku) | | Riichi | None | Core mechanic | | Dora | None | Yes (omote/ura/red/kan dora) | | Furiten | None | Yes | | Scoring method | Cumulative fan | Han-fu calculation | | Flower tiles | Yes (Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter, Plum/Orchid/Bamboo/Chrysanthemum) | None | | Key feature | Pattern combination strategy | Offense-defense and riichi battles |