Straits MahjongHun Yi Se 混一色
Hun Yi Se, the half flush, is a hand of one numbered suit plus winds and dragons. It is worth 2 tai in Singapore Mahjong, before any other tai it carries.
The hand most Singapore players chase when the tiles lean one way. One suit, topped up with winds and dragons, and very often the start of something bigger.
Also called: Half Flush, Half Colour, Ban Se
What It Is
Hun Yi Se (混一色, “mixed one colour”, also said half colour or Ban Se) is a complete hand that uses one numbered suit and honours (winds and dragons), with no tiles from the other two suits. Your four sets can be Chi, Pongs or Kongs, in any mix.
Bonus tiles don’t count against it. Flowers, seasons and animals sit to one side as usual, and still add their own tai.
What It Pays
| Table | Called | Worth |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Hun Yi Se | 2 tai |
| Hong Kong | Wan Yat Sik | 3 faan |
| Malaysian 3 Kaki | Half Flush | 1 fan |
| Riichi | Honitsu | 3 han (2 open) |
At a Singapore table a half flush is worth 2 tai on its own. The honour sets that make it a half flush often pay too: a Pong of dragons adds 1 tai, and so does a Pong of your Own Wind or the Round Wind. Half flush with one dragon Pong is three tai; add Pong Pong Hu and you’re at the limit.
Three tai on a discard win comes to 32 points, against 8 points for a one-tai hand. Each tai doubles the bill.
When To Go For It
Count your suits after the deal. With eight or more tiles in one suit plus a few honours, a half flush is often the best plan you have. With five or six spread across all three, it usually isn’t.
Decide early, then commit. Every off-suit tile you hold is a tile that will have to leave; throw them while they’re still safe, in the first few turns, rather than late when someone might be waiting on them.
Keep your honours paired. A lone dragon is weak; a pair of dragons is a Pong waiting for a discard and a tai on its own. Pongs are what let you claim quickly in a flush, so Pong Pong Hu and a half flush often arrive together.
How Other Players Read It
A half flush is hard to hide. Once you claim two sets of the same suit and stop throwing it, the table can see what you’re doing, and careful players will hold that suit back.
If you’re reading someone else: a player whose face-up sets are all one suit plus honours, and whose discards are everything but that suit, is building a flush. Once they show three such sets, throwing their suit is risky. At a Singapore table, feeding a full flush at that point is Bao, and you pay for everyone.
At Other Tables
Hong Kong calls it Wan Yat Sik and pays 3 faan. In Riichi, Honitsu pays 3 han (2 open). Malaysian 3 Kaki plays with a single numbered suit, Tong, so every hand there is close to a flush already, and the half flush pays only 1 fan.