Chinese Zodiac Compatibility Chart
生肖婚配表
The classical matching of the twelve animals in marriage, business, and friendship.
Origin Story
Three Harmonies and Six Clashes
The traditional chart recognizes two basic relationships. The Three Harmonies (三合) are pairs of animals whose elements reinforce one another: Rat-Dragon-Monkey form a Water group, Ox-Snake-Rooster a Metal group, Tiger-Horse-Dog a Fire group, and Rabbit-Goat-Pig a Wood group.
The Six Clashes (六争) are pairs that oppose each other: Rat-Horse, Ox-Goat, Tiger-Monkey, Rabbit-Rooster, Dragon-Dog, Snake-Pig. Marriages across a clash can work but are warned to take more care. The grouping is a kind of folk physics of personality.
The Chinese zodiac compatibility chart maps which animals match well, and which clash, across the realms of marriage, business, friendship, and family. Although simplified in modern apps, the traditional chart encodes over a thousand years of pairing lore from the Books of Rites, folk almanacs, and the I Ching.
Powers & Symbols
Attributes & Artefacts
Click each card to reveal the details behind Chinese Zodiac Compatibility Chart's divine attributes.
Magical Artifacts & Weapons
Chinese Zodiac Compatibility Chart's Divine Arsenal
The legendary weapons and treasures wielded by Chinese Zodiac Compatibility Chart — each with its own origin story, powers, and mythological significance.
Historical & Cultural Meaning
Beyond the Myth
Marriage Applications
Marriage is the most-studied domain. A bride whose birth year is Tiger approaching a groom whose birth year is Monkey is said to face a lifetime of friction (Tiger-Monkey clash). One whose birth year is Rabbit approaching a groom whose birth year is Rooster faces a similar difficulty. A bride whose birth year is Rat and a groom whose birth year is Dragon typically sail through.
The chart also distinguishes friendship and business compatibility, where the same logic applies but with different weights. Business partnerships across a clash are common because the clash can also bring complementary energy; marriage across a clash is rarer and requires more accommodation.
Beyond the Animals
Pure zodiac compatibility is the most popular but not the deepest system. The BaZi (Four Pillars) chart uses the year, month, day, and hour of birth to compute a personality profile far richer than the year alone. Marriage almanacs often use BaZi rather than the simple zodiac.
Skilled matchmakers consult both. The Twelve Animals provide a fast heuristic; the BaZi provides the deeper resolution. They often agree; when they disagree, the BaZi usually wins. The simple zodiac chart is now best understood as a useful simplification for everyday conversation.
Modern Tools
Compatibility calculators are common in marriage apps, fortune-telling sites, and family planning apps. Most accept only year of birth; the better ones accept full date and time. The same chart is used in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam with regional variations.
Even skeptics find the chart useful: it gives a shared vocabulary for couples to discuss their differences (‘Rat-Horse clash’ is a sentence everyone understands). And it often predicts well in the blunt cases — one whose animal clashes with five others will have a wilder life than one whose animal harmonizes with the rest.
Mythology Network
Connections & Relationships
Chinese Zodiac Compatibility Chart is woven into a larger web of gods, creatures, and legends. Explore the connections below.
Chinese Zodiac Compatibility Chart
生肖婚配表
Benmingnian - Your Zodiac Year
The every-twelve-years return to your birth animal — the year you must wear red.
Tai Sui - The Grand Duke Jupiter
The presiding deity of each year — whose moods you must not collide with.
Rat
The clever first — resourceful, quick-witted, and endlessly adaptable.
Dragon
The legendary fifth — powerful, lucky, and the only mythical creature in the zodiac.