Chinese zodiac compatibility compares two people by the relation between their animals: a trine, a secret friendship, an opposition, a harm or a penalty, with a second look at the elements of their birth years. This page sets out each pairing as the tradition describes it, in the same terms as the Chinese zodiac compatibility tool, which compares any two birth dates.
None of it is science, and the tradition itself offers no scores. Any two people can build a warm relationship or a difficult one, whatever their animals. Read the pairings as themes to talk over, and not as verdicts. If you are not sure of your animal, the Chinese zodiac calculator finds it from a birth date.
The four trines
The twelve animals sit on a wheel, and every fourth animal forms a trine of three friends. The tradition reads a trine as shared outlook and goals, so that the three understand each other without much explanation.
- The visionary and resourceful trine: Rat, Dragon and Monkey
- The steady and thoughtful trine: Ox, Snake and Rooster
- The spirited and independent trine: Tiger, Horse and Dog
- The gentle and creative trine: Rabbit, Goat and Pig
Each trine is also tied to one element in some schools, but the schools differ, and the tool does not use that link.
The six secret friends (six harmonies)
Six pairs of animals are called secret friends, or the six harmonies. The tradition reads such a pair as quietly supportive, each filling a gap the other has.
The six clashes
Animals directly opposite each other on the wheel, six places apart, are said to clash. The tradition reads opposites as magnetic and frictional at once: very different instincts, which can complement or collide, depending on how the two people handle it.
The six harms
Six further pairs are said to harm each other. The tradition reads a harm as small, repeated misunderstandings, where good intentions land badly, and not as open conflict.
Penalties and self-penalty
Three animals together form two penalty groups, and one pair stands alone. The groups are Tiger, Snake and Monkey; and Ox, Goat and Dog. The single pair is Rat and Rabbit. The tradition reads a penalty as a demanding pairing, where each pushes on the other’s sore spots, and which grows through frank conversation.
Four animals are also said to be hard on themselves, so that two of the same animal may amplify each other’s self-criticism: Dragon, Horse, Rooster and Pig.
The year elements
After the animals, the tradition looks at the element of each birth year. The tool uses the cycles of generation and control, which are on the element pages.
- Same element: a familiar, similar nature.
- Generation: Wood feeds Fire, Fire makes Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal gathers Water, Water nourishes Wood. The first element is said to support the second.
- Control: Wood checks Earth, Earth checks Water, Water checks Fire, Fire checks Metal, Metal checks Wood. The first is said to steer or check the second.
- No direct link: the pairs that remain, which the tradition treats as neutral.
All twelve at a glance
The table lists each animal’s trine allies, secret friend, clash, harm and penalty partners, worked out from the same pairings as the tool.
| Animal | Trine allies | Secret friend | Clash | Harm | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rat | Dragon and Monkey | Ox | Horse | Goat | Rabbit |
| Ox | Snake and Rooster | Rat | Goat | Horse | Goat and Dog |
| Tiger | Horse and Dog | Pig | Monkey | Snake | Snake and Monkey |
| Rabbit | Goat and Pig | Dog | Rooster | Dragon | Rat |
| Dragon | Rat and Monkey | Rooster | Dog | Rabbit | none |
| Snake | Ox and Rooster | Monkey | Pig | Tiger | Tiger and Monkey |
| Horse | Tiger and Dog | Goat | Rat | Ox | none |
| Goat | Rabbit and Pig | Horse | Ox | Rat | Ox and Dog |
| Monkey | Rat and Dragon | Snake | Tiger | Pig | Tiger and Snake |
| Rooster | Ox and Snake | Dragon | Rabbit | Dog | none |
| Dog | Tiger and Horse | Rabbit | Dragon | Rooster | Ox and Goat |
| Pig | Rabbit and Goat | Tiger | Snake | Monkey | none |
Of the 66 pairs of different animals, 33 have none of these links. The tradition treats that as the ordinary case: neither helped nor hindered, so the relationship rests on the two people.
How to use this honestly
People who enjoy the zodiac often use it as a conversation starter, in families especially. It can be fun to find that a friend is your secret friend, and harmless to learn that your partner is your opposite, as long as nobody uses it to decide whether to stay together or to turn anyone down. If you want a fuller picture of two people, look at the whole of each person’s character and, if you like astrology, at the Western zodiac compatibility pages as another lens.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Which Chinese zodiac signs are the most compatible?
The tradition names the trine allies and the secret friend as the most supportive pairings, and it gives no ranking beyond that. The tables above show them for every animal.
↳ Which signs clash in the Chinese zodiac?
Animals six places apart on the wheel are said to clash: Rat and Horse, Ox and Goat, Tiger and Monkey, Rabbit and Rooster, Dragon and Dog, and Snake and Pig. The tradition reads the clash as strong difference, which can be creative or trying.
↳ Does the element of the year matter for compatibility?
The tradition looks at it as a second layer, using the cycles of generation and control. It is a way of describing how two year elements tend to sit together, and it is not a prediction.
↳ Should I choose a partner by their Chinese zodiac sign?
No. The zodiac is folklore, and nobody has shown that it predicts how a relationship will go. It is best used for conversation and curiosity, with the real decisions left to the two people.
Return to the Chinese zodiac hub, or begin with the Rat.