Nine Gates (九蓮寶燈)
Concealed 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 in a single suit, completed by any tile of that suit. Considered the most beautiful hand in mahjong.
How Nine Gates (九蓮寶燈) works
A concealed hand in a single suit holding 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 plus any one extra tile of that same suit, completing one of the nine waits.
The hand is built entirely from one numeric suit with the fixed skeleton of three 1s, three 9s, and one each of 2 through 8, leaving a wait that accepts any of the nine tiles in the suit. Full Flush, Concealed Hand and Pung of Terminals or Honors are absorbed rather than added, but the hand still scores the fans of its final decomposition — the official example combines Nine Gates with Pure Straight and Tile Hog — and Fully Concealed combines on a self-drawn win.
- •Requires a fully concealed, one-suited hand on the 1112345678999 skeleton.
- •Full Flush, Concealed Hand and the terminal pungs’ 幺九刻 are absorbed.
- •Decomposition fans still count (e.g. Pure Straight and Tile Hog), and Fully Concealed combines when self-drawn.
Nine Gates (九蓮寶燈) — FAQ
Can Nine Gates use honor tiles?
No. It is strictly one numeric suit of dots, bamboo, or characters, with no winds or dragons.
Why is it called nine gates?
The completed skeleton leaves a wait on all nine ranks of the suit, so any of nine tiles can be the winning tile.