Chinese Zodiac
Chinese Zodiac Compatibility
Chinese zodiac compatibility runs on geometry, not vibes: signs four apart on the wheel are allies, each sign has one secret friend, and the sign directly opposite is the famous clash. No percentages here, because the tradition never had any. Pick two signs and see the actual rule behind the verdict.
Check two signs
Not sure of a sign? Birth years near Chinese New Year are tricky, find your sign by exact birth date.
How the system actually works
Every compatibility verdict in the Chinese zodiac comes from one map: twelve signs on a wheel, in a fixed order, each tied to one of the twelve "earthly branches" that Chinese calendars have used to count hours and years for over two thousand years. The relationships are positions on that wheel, which means every verdict can be checked, and none of them involves a percentage.
Four rules do all the work. Signs four apart form a trine (san he), three-sign teams with a shared elemental character; these are the classic best matches. Each sign also has exactly one secret friend (liu he), a quiet one-on-one alliance. The sign sitting directly opposite is the clash (liu chong), the pairing grandmothers warn about. And a subtler set of six harms (liu hai) flags slow-friction pairs. Everything else is read through the five elements each sign carries.
Where a pairing has no formal bond, we say so, and grade it by how the two signs' fixed elements interact in the generating and controlling cycles. That is the entire method. Any site showing you "67%" is decorating; the tradition it borrows from contains no math to do.
For the rules stated as rules, the arithmetic of the whole wheel, and ten circulating claims checked one by one against the branch tables, see the mechanisms reference.
Love compatibility for each of the 12 signs
One sketch per sign, then its best matches, its secret friend and its clash, read straight off the wheel. Every name links to the pairing's own page.
Rat
Quick, sociable and resourceful, the Rat notices everything and keeps what it finds; in a partner it wants someone who can keep up and will not mind being managed a little.
- Secret friend
- Ox
Ox
The Ox works the long way round and gets there; patient, stubborn, allergic to drama, it is the sign people marry when they have finished with excitement.
- Secret friend
- Rat
Tiger
The Tiger leads first and asks later, generous, restless, and easily bored; it needs a partner who will not compete for the front of the room and will not be flattened by it either.
- Secret friend
- Pig
Rabbit
Gentle, careful and diplomatic, with the longest memory on the wheel, the Rabbit avoids open conflict and remembers every one it lost; it wants calm and gives it.
- Secret friend
- Dog
Dragon
The Dragon is grand, warm, and constitutionally unable to be ordinary; it is the sign that most needs an audience and most resents being told so.
- Secret friend
- Rooster
Snake
Private, elegant and slow to decide, the Snake watches for a long time before it commits, and once it has committed does not like to be watched back.
- Secret friend
- Monkey
Horse
The Horse runs free and hates a closed gate; sociable, quick to fall in love, quicker to feel fenced in, it pairs best with signs that leave the door open.
- Secret friend
- Goat
Goat
Kind, artistic and a little anxious, the Goat needs to be needed and gives more than it asks; it does badly with signs that mistake its softness for weakness.
- Secret friend
- Horse
Monkey
Clever, playful and bored by rules, the Monkey turns everything into a game, including the relationship, which is charming until the other person wants to be taken seriously.
- Secret friend
- Snake
Rooster
Precise, candid and always dressed for it, the Rooster says what it sees and expects credit for the honesty; it is loyal to the point of lecturing.
- Secret friend
- Dragon
The same twelve blocks answer the questions people type in other words: a Chinese horoscope partner compatibility check, a Chinese astrology match, a birth-year match for a wedding. It is one system, and the names above are its whole output for any sign.
All 66 pairings
Every possible pairing of the twelve signs, with the verdict and the rule that produced it. Pairings with a full write-up are linked; the rest are being written in order of demand.
| Pairing | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Rat + Ox | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Rat + Tiger | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Water feeds Wood in the generating cycle. |
| Rat + Rabbit | Takes work | No clash, but the old punishment (xing) tables flag this pair. A caution, not a verdict. |
| Rat + Dragon | Best match | San he, both belong to the Water trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Rat + Snake | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Water controls Fire in the five-element cycle. |
| Rat + Horse | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Rat + Goat | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Rat + Monkey | Best match | San he, both belong to the Water trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Rat + Rooster | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Metal feeds Water in the generating cycle. |
| Rat + Dog | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Earth controls Water in the five-element cycle. |
| Rat + Pig | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Water. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Ox + Tiger | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Wood controls Earth in the five-element cycle. |
| Ox + Rabbit | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Wood controls Earth in the five-element cycle. |
| Ox + Dragon | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Earth. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Ox + Snake | Best match | San he, both belong to the Metal trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Ox + Horse | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Ox + Goat | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Ox + Monkey | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Earth feeds Metal in the generating cycle. |
| Ox + Rooster | Best match | San he, both belong to the Metal trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Ox + Dog | Takes work | No clash, but the old punishment (xing) tables flag this pair. A caution, not a verdict. |
| Ox + Pig | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Earth controls Water in the five-element cycle. |
| Tiger + Rabbit | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Wood. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Tiger + Dragon | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Wood controls Earth in the five-element cycle. |
| Tiger + Snake | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Tiger + Horse | Best match | San he, both belong to the Fire trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Tiger + Goat | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Wood controls Earth in the five-element cycle. |
| Tiger + Monkey | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Tiger + Rooster | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Metal controls Wood in the five-element cycle. |
| Tiger + Dog | Best match | San he, both belong to the Fire trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Tiger + Pig | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Rabbit + Dragon | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Rabbit + Snake | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Wood feeds Fire in the generating cycle. |
| Rabbit + Horse | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Wood feeds Fire in the generating cycle. |
| Rabbit + Goat | Best match | San he, both belong to the Wood trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Rabbit + Monkey | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Metal controls Wood in the five-element cycle. |
| Rabbit + Rooster | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Rabbit + Dog | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Rabbit + Pig | Best match | San he, both belong to the Wood trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Dragon + Snake | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Fire feeds Earth in the generating cycle. |
| Dragon + Horse | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Fire feeds Earth in the generating cycle. |
| Dragon + Goat | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Earth. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Dragon + Monkey | Best match | San he, both belong to the Water trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Dragon + Rooster | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Dragon + Dog | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Dragon + Pig | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Earth controls Water in the five-element cycle. |
| Snake + Horse | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Fire. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Snake + Goat | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Fire feeds Earth in the generating cycle. |
| Snake + Monkey | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Snake + Rooster | Best match | San he, both belong to the Metal trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Snake + Dog | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Fire feeds Earth in the generating cycle. |
| Snake + Pig | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Horse + Goat | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Horse + Monkey | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Fire controls Metal in the five-element cycle. |
| Horse + Rooster | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Fire controls Metal in the five-element cycle. |
| Horse + Dog | Best match | San he, both belong to the Fire trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Horse + Pig | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Water controls Fire in the five-element cycle. |
| Goat + Monkey | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Earth feeds Metal in the generating cycle. |
| Goat + Rooster | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Earth feeds Metal in the generating cycle. |
| Goat + Dog | Takes work | No clash, but the old punishment (xing) tables flag this pair. A caution, not a verdict. |
| Goat + Pig | Best match | San he, both belong to the Wood trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Monkey + Rooster | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Metal. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Monkey + Dog | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Earth feeds Metal in the generating cycle. |
| Monkey + Pig | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Rooster + Dog | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Rooster + Pig | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Metal feeds Water in the generating cycle. |
| Dog + Pig | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Earth controls Water in the five-element cycle. |
Questions people ask
What is Chinese zodiac compatibility based on?
Geometry, not personality quizzes. The twelve signs sit on a wheel of twelve "earthly branches," and every verdict is a position: signs four apart form a trine (san he) of natural allies, each sign has exactly one "secret friend" (liu he), the sign directly opposite is its clash (liu chong), and a second set of six pairings called the harms (liu hai) carries a quieter warning. Every verdict on this site names which of those rules produced it.
Are Chinese zodiac compatibility percentages real?
No. The scores you see elsewhere ("Dragon and Dog: 30%") have no source and no method; the traditional system contains no numbers at all, only the named relationships between branch positions. We publish the mechanism behind each verdict instead of inventing arithmetic on top of it.
Which Chinese zodiac signs should not marry?
Tradition flags the six clashes hardest: Rat–Horse, Ox–Goat, Tiger–Monkey, Rabbit–Rooster, Dragon–Dog, and Snake–Pig, each pair sitting directly opposite on the wheel. Old matchmakers checked these before weddings, and some families still do. It has always been a caution rather than a prohibition, and real couples override it every day.
Does zodiac compatibility still matter in China today?
As living culture, yes. Grandparents consult it before introductions, matchmaking corners in city parks list birth years on the posted profiles, and a clash pairing can still prompt a family discussion. Treated as heritage and conversation rather than destiny, which is exactly how this site reads it too.
Which Chinese zodiac signs pair well together?
The four trines first: Rat, Dragon, Monkey; Ox, Snake, Rooster; Tiger, Horse, Dog; Rabbit, Goat, Pig. Each trio sits four positions apart on the wheel and shares an elemental character, and any two signs from the same trio are a traditional best match. Then the six secret friends, one per sign: Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, Horse and Goat. Everything else is read through the two signs' fixed elements, and the 66-row table below names the rule for every pairing.
Which Chinese zodiac signs are soulmates?
If the word means anything in this system, it means the secret friend (liu he): the one sign each animal is paired with in the six harmonies, a quiet one-to-one alliance rather than the three-way team of the trine. The six pairs are Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, Horse and Goat. Tradition treats these as the pairings that understand each other without effort; it does not promise they will meet.
Which sign is most compatible with the Horse?
The Horse's trine partners are the Tiger and the Dog, and its secret friend is the Goat; those three are its traditional best matches. Its clash is the Rat, directly opposite on the wheel, and its harm is the Ox. The Horse also appears in the old self-punishment list, which some almanacs read as a caution about two Horses together. Each of those pairings has its own page.
Which Chinese zodiac signs are incompatible with each other?
The six clashes are the pairs the tradition warns about hardest: Rat and Horse, Ox and Goat, Tiger and Monkey, Rabbit and Rooster, Dragon and Dog, Snake and Pig, each sitting directly opposite the other on the wheel. Behind them sit the six harms (liu hai), a slower friction: Rat and Goat, Ox and Horse, Tiger and Snake, Rabbit and Dragon, Monkey and Pig, Rooster and Dog. Incompatible is the tradition's word, not a verdict on any two people; the clash pages on this site are written for couples who are already in one.
Can two people with the same zodiac sign be compatible?
The branch system simply has no line for a sign paired with itself: no trine, no clash. Tradition reads same-sign couples as amplified likeness, double the strengths and double the blind spots. One footnote: the Dragon, Horse, Rooster, and Pig appear in the old self-punishment (xing) lists, which some almanacs read as a caution about self-sameness.
The twelve signs, year by year
Exact year spans, personalities, and each sign's full profile.
Chinese gender predictor
The legendary palace chart, read honestly from a birth date.
By Julian 祝君瑜, verdicts derived from the twelve-branch system, mechanisms named, no percentages were invented in the making of this page