There are 34 basic tile types. A full set contains four identical tiles of each type, giving 136 tiles in play (1, 1.3); Three suits — circles (pinzu), bamboo (sōzu) and characters (manzu) — each numbered one to nine (1.1); The ones and nines of each suit are called terminals (1.1)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that all Mahjong tiles are equally valuable just because they're terminals (ones and nines). However, in Riichi Mahjong, these terminal tiles are actually less valuable than other basic tile types, as they can only be used for specific bonuses rather than to complete sets on their own.
