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Mahjong Master
intermediate Suits Common

Honitsu

混一色 | Honitsu

The hand contains tiles from only one suit plus honor tiles.

By Kenji Tanaka · Updated

Overview

Honitsu, the half flush, is a yaku worth 3 han closed and 2 han open, earned when your entire hand uses tiles from a single suit plus any honor tiles. It is a popular intermediate goal because the honor tiles add flexibility that a pure flush lacks, while the suited portion still forms ordinary sequences and triplets. Honitsu combines naturally with yakuhai when your honor triplet is a value tile, and with toitoi or chiitoitsu, and a closed honitsu reinforced with dora often climbs into haneman or baiman territory. The tradeoff is that committing to one suit narrows your draws and telegraphs your hand once your discards show two suits being thrown away, so opponents can read and defend it. Honitsu is a strong choice when your starting hand already leans heavily toward one suit with a few useful honors, and it is a natural stepping stone toward the higher-scoring chinitsu.

Han Value
3 han (closed) / 2 han (open)

Example Hand

123m 456m 789m 11z 555z

Conditions

  • All numbered tiles in the hand must belong to a single suit (all characters, all circles, or all bamboo)
  • The hand must also contain at least one honor tile (wind or dragon) in either a meld or the pair
  • No tiles from the other two number suits are permitted
  • Worth 3 han when the hand is closed, 2 han when open
  • If the hand contains no honor tiles at all (pure single suit), it becomes chinitsu instead

Strategy Tips

  • Honitsu is one of the most practical high-value yaku. When your starting hand leans heavily toward one suit with some honors mixed in, start discarding tiles from the other two suits to build toward it.
  • This yaku combines extremely well with yakuhai. A honitsu hand with a dragon triplet or seat wind triplet easily reaches mangan (8000+ points) even when open.
  • Be aware that discarding two entire suits makes your strategy obvious to experienced opponents. They will recognize a honitsu attempt and may hold onto tiles you need. Try to discard the off-suit tiles gradually rather than all at once.