Five bamboo sticks representing the five elements.
Five connects to the Wu Xing — the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) central to Chinese cosmology.
Bamboo Suit
Match with an identical tile. Both tiles must be free (no tile on top, at least one open side).
4 identical tiles per standard set
Bamboo 5 sits in the middle of the suit. Neither rare nor common — match opportunistically.
Explore all tiles in the Mahjong Tile Guide to learn matching strategies for every suit.