This Chinese zodiac compatibility chart sets all twelve animals against each other in one grid, 144 cells. Each cell names the classical relationship between two Earthly Branches (地支 dìzhī), the twelve characters the animals stand for. Where there is no named relationship, the cell is left as a dash. Nothing here is a score out of ten. It is a map of which pairs pull together, which pull apart, and which leave each other alone.
The branches, in order, are 子 zǐ Rat, 丑 chǒu Ox, 寅 yín Tiger, 卯 mǎo Rabbit, 辰 chén Dragon, 巳 sì Snake, 午 wǔ Horse, 未 wèi Goat, 申 shēn Monkey, 酉 yǒu Rooster, 戌 xū Dog and 亥 hài Pig. If you are not sure which animal you are, the zodiac years chart lists the start date of every year; the animal changes at the lunar year, not on 1 January.
The chinese zodiac compatibility chart: all 12 signs
Read across from your animal in the left column, then down to the other person’s animal. The grid is symmetrical: Rat against Horse reads the same as Horse against Rat. Each row heading links to that animal’s own compatibility hub.
Relation names follow the site’s chart engine. Cell text is shortened to the relation’s hanzi and a short English label; the relations themselves are unchanged.
Legend: what each relation means
- 六合 Combination (六合 liùhé, Six Combination): two branches that bind as a pair. Rat with Ox, Tiger with Pig, Rabbit with Dog, Dragon with Rooster, Snake with Monkey, Horse with Goat. Supportive.
- 三合 Harmony (三合 sānhé, Three Harmony): three branches four places apart that form one element frame. Monkey, Rat and Dragon make Water; Tiger, Horse and Dog make Fire; Snake, Rooster and Ox make Metal; Pig, Rabbit and Goat make Wood. Any two of the three are allies. Supportive.
- 六冲 Clash (六冲 liùchōng, Six Clash): branches directly opposite each other on the circle. Rat and Horse, Ox and Goat, Tiger and Monkey, Rabbit and Rooster, Dragon and Dog, Snake and Pig. Friction.
- 六害 Harm (六害 liùhài, Six Harm): a quieter strain than a clash, felt as slow wear rather than open conflict. Friction.
- 刑 Punishment (刑 xíng): a pressure relationship. In this grid it appears between Rat and Rabbit, among Ox, Goat and Dog, and among Tiger, Snake and Monkey. Friction.
- Same sign: two people born under the same animal. A doubling, close to what is called 伏吟 (fúyín). Same sign amplifies both strengths and blind spots.
- Neutral: no classical relation between the pair. Every cell in the chart links to that pair’s full page. Neutral, which is not the same as weak.
Some pairs carry two relations at once. Ox and Goat clash and also punish; Tiger and Monkey clash and punish; Snake and Monkey combine and punish; Tiger and Snake harm and punish. When a cell holds both, both are live. This chart does not show 破 (pò, destruction) or 自刑 (zìxíng, self-punishment), which some schools add as further layers.
How to read it: supportive versus friction
Combinations and harmonies are supportive. The two branches lean toward each other, and in a relationship that tends to show as ease, shared direction and a sense of being on the same side. Clashes, harms and punishments are friction. Friction is movement. A clash pair often has real attraction and real arguments, and a clash cell is not a closed door.
The classic mistake is to treat a friction cell as a verdict. In charts we read, the question is never “is this pair allowed”. It is “where will the pressure show, and what do both people do with it”. A 六冲 between two year animals says something about family background and outward temperament. It says very little about whether two adults can build a household.
The same caution runs the other way. A 六合 cell is pleasant, but a combination can also bind a person into habits that are not good for them. Supportive is a description, not a promise.
Why the year animal is only one of eight characters
A full Ba Zi (八字 bāzì) chart has four pillars, year, month, day and hour, and each pillar has a stem and a branch. That is eight characters. The year animal is one of them. This chinese zodiac compatibility chart compares only that one character between two people, which is why two Rats can have very different marriages.
The branch that matters most for partnership is the day branch (日支 rìzhī), the seat directly under the Day Master. It is called the spouse palace, and it describes how a person behaves inside a close relationship rather than in public. Run the same grid on two people’s day branches and you are reading something much closer to daily life. The method is set out in day branch compatibility, and the wider reading, including the spouse stars and the timing of luck pillars, in Ba Zi marriage compatibility.
For a single pairing, each animal hub goes further than one cell can: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The compatibility hub gathers all of them, and the six clashes and the punishments each have their own page.
Using the chart well
Use the grid as a first look, not a last word. If your year animals clash, check the day branches before drawing any conclusion. If they combine, still check the day branches. Couples choosing a date often use the same idea in reverse, avoiding days that clash either partner’s year or day branch; the 2027 wedding dates list carries a clash animal for every date for that reason.
To see both charts side by side, enter the two birth dates in the free compatibility tool, which looks past the year animal to the charts themselves. When you want the full picture read with you, a reading is one hour with both charts on the table and a written summary afterwards, with no fear-selling.