# Chanta (混全帯幺九) — Riichi Mahjong Yaku

> Every meld and the pair must contain at least one terminal (1 or 9) or honor tile.

**Source:** https://www.mahjongmaster.co/learn/riichi/yaku/chanta/
**Author:** Kenji Tanaka (https://www.mahjongmaster.co/about/kenji-tanaka/)
**Publisher:** Mahjong Master (https://www.mahjongmaster.co)
**Published:** 2026-02-14
**Updated:** 2026-03-10
**Japanese:** 混全帯幺九 (Hon Chantaiyaochuu)
**Han value:** 2 han (closed) / 1 han (open)
**Category:** terminal-honor
**Difficulty:** intermediate
**Frequency:** uncommon
**Closed only:** no

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## Overview

Chanta, the outside hand, is a yaku worth 2 han closed and 1 han open, requiring that every meld and the pair contain at least one terminal (a 1 or 9) or an honor tile. It is the more permissive cousin of junchan, which allows terminals only; permitting honors makes chanta easier but worth one han less. Because each block must reach the edges of a suit or use honors, chanta hands lean on terminal sequences like 123 and 789 plus terminal or honor triplets and pairs, and they combine well with yakuhai, honitsu, and sanshoku doujun. The drawback is that terminal-anchored and honor-based shapes give narrower waits and fewer useful draws than middle-tile hands, so chanta is usually pursued only when a starting hand already clusters around terminals and honors. With dora added, a closed chanta can still reach a respectable score.

## Conditions

- Every meld (sequence or triplet) in the hand must include at least one terminal tile (1 or 9) or honor tile (winds and dragons)
- The pair must also be a terminal or honor tile
- Sequences that qualify are only 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 (since they contain a 1 or 9)
- The hand must contain at least one sequence (otherwise it would be honroutou with toitoi instead)
- Worth 2 han when the hand is closed, 1 han when open

## Strategy Tips

- Chanta hands are limited to edge sequences (1-2-3 and 7-8-9), terminal triplets, and honor tiles. Recognize early when your hand is leaning toward terminals and honors so you can commit to this path.
- If your hand has no honor tiles at all, you may be able to aim for junchan instead, which is worth 3 han closed. Evaluate whether keeping or discarding honors leads to a higher-value hand.
- Chanta combines naturally with yakuhai if you have dragon or seat wind triplets, adding easy han value on top of the base 2 han.

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*This content is from [Mahjong Master](https://www.mahjongmaster.co), a free educational reference for riichi (Japanese) and American (NMJL) mahjong. When citing this page, please link to https://www.mahjongmaster.co/learn/riichi/yaku/chanta/.*