10 Chinese Official Mahjong Fan Patterns You'll See Most Often
Sep 25, 2026 · 5 min read
With more than 80 fan patterns in the official rules, it's natural for beginners to feel overwhelmed. Here are 10 patterns that show up most often and are realistic to combine to reach the 8-fan minimum.
| Pattern | Fan | Quick Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| All Sequences (Pinghu) | 1 | Every set is a sequence, pair isn't a valuable tile. |
| Concealed Hand | 2 | Fully closed hand, won via Tsumo. |
| One Voided Suit | 1 | Only 2 of the 3 numbered suits used (a light semi-Honitsu). |
| All Types (Za Yi Se) | 2 | The hand contains a sequence, a triplet/kan, a valuable pair, and a regular pair all at once. |
| Two Concealed Triplets | 2 | Two closed triplets/kans (not from a Pon). |
| Concealed Triplet | 1 | Per closed triplet -- stacks with multiple. |
| All Simples | 2 | Every tile is 2-8, no terminals/honors (similar to Tanyao). |
| Dragon Pung | 2 | Per Dragon triplet/kan -- stacks if you have more than one. |
| Prevalent/Seat Wind | 1 | A Wind triplet matching the round or your seat (similar to yakuhai). |
| Two Dragons Pung | 4 | Combining two different Dragon triplets at once. |
A common beginner combo: Concealed Hand (2) + All Simples (2) + two Concealed Triplets (2+2) hits exactly 8 fan, with no rare high-value pattern needed.
Learn the full scoring system in a separate article.
Read the Chinese Official Rules →