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Mahjong Master
advanced Terminal & Honor Rare

Honroutou

混老頭 | Honroutou

The entire hand consists of only terminal tiles (1s and 9s) and honor tiles.

By Kenji Tanaka · Updated

Overview

Honroutou, all terminals and honors, is a yaku worth 2 han in which every tile in your hand is a terminal (1 or 9) or an honor, with no simples anywhere. Because none of these tiles can form a sequence, honroutou is always built from triplets and pairs, so it never appears alone: it necessarily combines with either toitoi (all triplets) for a four-triplet hand or with chiitoitsu (seven pairs), and it frequently overlaps with yakuhai when an honor triplet is a value tile. That stacking means a honroutou hand is usually worth well more than its own 2 han once its partner yaku are counted. It sits between chanta and the terminal-or-honor yakuman: removing the simples that chanta allows produces honroutou, and removing the honors entirely yields the yakuman chinroutou. Honroutou is a target you steer toward from a start rich in terminals and honors with several early pairs.

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

Example Hand

111m 999p 111z 77z 99s

Conditions

  • Every tile in the hand must be either a terminal (1 or 9 of any suit) or an honor (wind or dragon)
  • No middle tiles (2 through 8) are allowed anywhere in the hand
  • Since no sequences can be formed with only terminals and honors, the hand must be either all triplets (toitoi) or seven pairs (chiitoitsu)
  • Honroutou always combines with toitoi (2 han) or chiitoitsu (2 han), giving a minimum of 4 han before other yaku
  • Worth 2 han regardless of whether the hand is open or closed

Strategy Tips

  • Honroutou is a restrictive hand that limits your tile pool significantly (only 6 types of number tiles plus 7 honor types = 13 tile types). Commit to it only when your starting hand is heavily skewed toward terminals and honors.
  • The toitoi version (with pon calls) is more common than the chiitoitsu version. Calling pon on terminals and honors early can help you build this hand, though it reveals your strategy.
  • If your hand has terminals but no honors, consider aiming for chinroutou (all terminals yakuman) instead, which is extremely rare but far more valuable.