‘麻将牌’ (májiāng pái) literally means ‘mahjong tile’ — a single playing piece used in the traditional Chinese tile-based game of mahjong. The word combines three characters: 麻 (má), short for ‘mahjong’ (a loanword from the Min Nan term ‘máquè’); 将 (jiāng), historically referencing the ‘general’ rank in military-themed card games that evolved into mahjong; and 牌 (pái), meaning ‘tile’, ‘card’, or ‘playing piece’. Together, they refer specifically to the 136 (or sometimes 144) rectangular tiles made of bamboo, bone, or plastic, each bearing unique symbols representing suits (dots, bamboos, characters), honors (winds, dragons), or flowers/seasons.

These tiles are central to mahjong gameplay across China and the Chinese diaspora — used in family gatherings, social clubs, and competitive tournaments. While ‘麻将’ alone refers to the game as a whole, ‘麻将牌’ emphasizes the physical or conceptual objects themselves, often appearing in contexts like buying, sorting, cleaning, or describing tile sets.