Mahjong characters · 風牌 fēng pái

What are the four winds in mahjong?

The wind tiles are the compass: 東 east, 南 south, 西 west, 北 north — in that order, which is the order Chinese always lists directions in and the order players are seated.

Every face in this suit

On the tile	Called	Reading	What it is
東	东风	dōng fēng	east wind — The dealer sits East, so 東 also names the dealer's seat.
南	南风	nán fēng	south wind — 東南西北 is the seating order — and the order Chinese always lists directions in.
西	西风	xī fēng	west wind — The same 西 as 西边 (west side) and 西安 (Xi'an).
北	北风	běi fēng	north wind — 北 as in 北京 — the northern capital.

The characters, off the table

These are ordinary words. Each one is taught somewhere in an HSK course, and here is where:

Character	Reading	Meaning	Taught at
东	dōng	east	方向与位置 · HSK 3
南	nán	south	方向与位置 · HSK 3
西	xī	west	方向与位置 · HSK 3
北	běi	north	地点与场所 · HSK 1

Save this suit as one card

The same faces as a single image, sized for a phone screen: tap it, then pick 9:16 for TikTok or Reels, 4:5 for a feed, or 1.91:1 for a link preview.

Play with the real tiles

The full set — all 34 faces, a dealt hand to read, a matching game, a 听牌 puzzle and the words spoken at the table — is on the main mahjong page. Tap any tile there for its reading, stroke order and the lesson that teaches it.

The other suits: Characters Dots Bamboo Dragons · All the mahjong cards