Chanta

Chanta is 2 han on a closed hand and 1 han after a call. Every set and the pair hold a 1, a 9, or an honor, and at least one set is a run.

Players shorten the Japanese name, 混全帯么九, to chanta. This site's glossary also lists it as Mixed Outside Hand. The EMA 2016 rules call it outside hand.

A 1, a 9, or an honor in every set

The runs that count are 123 and 789. A triplet counts when it's 1s, 9s, or honors. The pair follows the same rule. One 456 anywhere and the yaku is gone.

The red dragons are a closed triplet, so the hand already has yakuhai. It waits on or . Only one of them makes chanta.

makes 123 sou. Every set now holds a 1, a 9, or a dragon, and the pair is 9 sou. That's chanta plus yakuhai: 3 han. The fu are the base 20, plus 10 for a closed ron, plus 8 for the closed dragon triplet. 38 rounds up to 40. At 3 han 40 fu, a non-dealer ron collects 5,200. The dealer collects 7,700.

makes 234 sou, and 234 has no 1 or 9. The hand is yakuhai alone: 1 han 40 fu. A non-dealer ron collects 1,300. The dealer collects 2,000.

Same hand, same wait. The 1 sou pays 3,900 more on a non-dealer ron. Those payments have no dora, no honba, and no riichi sticks.

The glossary entry is the short form: every set and the pair includes a terminal or honor, 2 han closed and 1 han open. The scoring guide counts fu like these line by line.

Closed or open

Tenhou's rules list chanta at 2 han and mark it as losing a han after a call. The EMA 2016 rules file outside hand with the 1 fan yaku and add a fan when the hand is concealed. Their ninth scoring example is an open hand, and outside hand scores 1 fan there. That's the row on this site: 2 closed, 1 open.

The EMA definition also asks for at least one run. The World Riichi Championship rules add that the hand needs at least one honor.

An open chanta

You called chi on 123 man: . These ten tiles are still in your hand.

The hand waits on only, an edge wait on 12 sou. makes 123 sou, and every set holds a 1 or a 9. The pair of white dragons supplies the honor. Open chanta is 1 han, and here it's the only yaku.

The fu are the base 20, plus 2 for the dragon pair, plus 2 for the edge wait. 24 rounds up to 30. At 1 han 30 fu, a non-dealer ron collects 1,000. The dealer collects 1,500.

Chanta, junchan, or honroutou

The same outside shape splits three ways.

• An honor somewhere and at least one run: chanta.
• No honors and at least one run: junchan, at 3 han closed and 2 han open. It replaces chanta. You don't score both.
• No runs at all: every tile is then a 1, a 9, or an honor. That's honroutou, and chanta doesn't apply.

The World Riichi Championship rules spell out both: junchan and honroutou don't combine with chanta.

Common mistakes

• Counting 234 or 678 as an outside run. Only 123 and 789 hold a terminal.
• Forgetting the pair. A pair of 5s removes chanta even when all four sets qualify.
• Counting 2 han after a call. An open chanta is 1 han.
• Taking the wrong side of the wait. 23 waits on 1 and 4, and only the 1 makes chanta.
• Scoring chanta on top of junchan. A hand with no honors is junchan alone.

What sits with it

Yakuhai often supplies the honor, as in the first hand. Honitsu fits when every run and terminal shares one suit. Sanshoku fits with 123 or 789 in all three suits. Pinfu fits only when the honor is a pair of guest wind. Tanyao and ittsu never do. Tanyao bans the tiles chanta needs, and ittsu needs a 456.