Mahjiku › Questions › What are the flowers in mahjong?
Flowers are eight bonus tiles (four flowers and four seasons) in most Chinese-style sets. When you draw one you set it aside and take a replacement; it scores a small bonus but is never part of your hand.
Most Chinese-style mahjong sets — Hong Kong, Chinese Official, Taiwanese, Singaporean — include eight bonus tiles: four Flowers and four Seasons, numbered 1–4 to match the four seats. They are not suits or honours, and they are not part of the sets you build.
When you draw a flower, you expose it immediately, set it aside, and draw a replacement tile from the wall — so flowers never clog your hand. At the end they add a small bonus to the score, and matching your seat number can be worth a little extra. Crucially, in most rulesets flowers cannot help you reach the minimum needed to win — they sweeten a winning hand but can't carry it.
Japanese Riichi is the notable exception: standard Riichi sets leave the flower tiles out entirely.
Last reviewed 2026-08-23.
Game points only. Mahjiku records mahjong points for a friendly table — no betting, no money, nothing to cash out.
Mahjiku is a live scorekeeper with fully custom house rules — points only, no wagering.
App StoreGoogle Play© 2026 Steven Eka Halim · Mahjiku records game points only.