also: すうパイ
noun
suited tiles
In mahjong, tiles of the three suits (manzu, pinzu, sōzu), as opposed to honor tiles.
from Chinese shù pái
数牌は萬子、筒子、索子の三種類がある。
Suited tiles come in three types: manzu, pinzu, and sōzu.
手牌に数牌が多すぎると、役が作りにくい。
If you have too many suited tiles in your hand, it's hard to form a yaku.
Mixed kana/katakana reading variant; less common than シューパイ.
字牌 are honor tiles (wind and dragon tiles), while 数牌 are the numbered suited tiles.
From Chinese 数牌 (shù pái, 'number tiles'). The reading シューパイ reflects the Chinese-derived on'yomi, while すうパイ is a mixed reading.