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. Because it must be fully concealed and one-suited, it sits among the highest MCR patterns, and under the non-repeat principle it absorbs the full-flush element rather than scoring it separately. It cannot be combined with most structural fan since the tile layout is rigidly defined.
- •Must be entirely concealed; a melded set breaks the pattern.
- •The defining 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 shape means any single suit tile completes the hand.
- •The full flush is implied by the pattern and is not counted again.
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.