South wind mahjong tile

The character for south on a tile face.

Also known as: South wind honour, Nan tile, Nam wind tile

CulturalSport & gamesQuiet profile

Meanings

The south wind tile, second of the four wind honours in the order mahjong uses.

Culturally establishedVerified fact
Is the south wind, second of the four wind honour tiles.
Contexts: History
Culturally establishedVerified fact
Follows east in mahjong's own wind order, which runs east, south, west, north and so turns anticlockwise on a compass rather than clockwise.
Contexts: History

A compact block of strokes drawn centrally on the rectangle of the tile face, distinguished from the other winds by those strokes alone.

A fuller structured visual breakdown is not yet documented for this symbol.

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Mahjong Competition Rules
World Mahjong Organisation · retrieved 2026-08-25
Tertiary reference for the internationally standardised mahjong rule set, used for the composition of the tile set and the names of its tiles. Regional rule sets differ in scoring and in which optional tiles are used, and records say so where it matters rather than presenting one variant as the game.

Last reviewed 2026-08-26

Meanings

The south wind tile, second of the four wind honours in the order mahjong uses.

Culturally establishedVerified fact

Is the south wind, second of the four wind honour tiles.

Contexts: History

Culturally establishedVerified fact

Follows east in mahjong's own wind order, which runs east, south, west, north and so turns anticlockwise on a compass rather than clockwise.

Contexts: History

Confidence

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

Mahjong Competition Rules
World Mahjong Organisation · retrieved 2026-08-25
Tertiary reference for the internationally standardised mahjong rule set, used for the composition of the tile set and the names of its tiles. Regional rule sets differ in scoring and in which optional tiles are used, and records say so where it matters rather than presenting one variant as the game.

Last reviewed 2026-08-26