Pig Chinese Zodiac Compatibility
Tradition: Chinese zodiac. A tradition, not a forecast. The Chinese zodiac reads it this way; the evidence does not.
By Suraj Giri · Updated · Reviewer for this method: not yet appointed (see our editorial policy)
In the Chinese zodiac, the Pig matches best with the Rabbit and the Goat, its two trine partners, and with the Tiger, its secret friend; its most difficult match is the Snake, the animal opposite it on the twelve-year cycle.
The Pig is the twelfth and last animal of the cycle, and this page reads it against all twelve, the Pig included, by the tradition's three relations: trine, secret friend and clash. To pair the Pig with any other animal, check two Chinese zodiac animals on the hub. The table below answers every pairing, and the sections explain the relation behind each row.
Which years are Pig years?
Pig years start at the lunar new year, not on 1 January. The Chinese year turns on a date between 21 January and 20 February that moves every year, so a birthday in January or early February can belong to the animal before the Pig. Not sure you are a Pig? Use the year table to find your animal by birth year, with the date each year begins.
Who is the Pig's best match?
Best match. The tradition's easiest matches for the Pig are the Rabbit and the Goat: the Rabbit, Goat and Pig trine, animals four years apart. The secret friend, the Tiger, makes one of the six harmony pairs with it.
Worst match. Pig and Snake is one of the six clash pairs: the two animals sit opposite each other, six years apart. A clash is the tradition's reading of two birth years, not a fact about two people.
Trine partners are the tradition's first answer to any best-match question. The four trines, San He in Chinese, each join three animals spaced evenly round the cycle, and the tradition ranks nobody inside one, so the Pig's two partners stand level. That also settles the "soulmate" question: the tradition names no single soulmate for the Pig, only two trine partners and a secret friend.
Who is the Pig's secret friend?
The Pig's secret friend is the Tiger: together they make one of the six harmony pairs the tradition calls secret friends. The harmony pairs, Liu He in Chinese, are a fixed list: they sit at different distances round the cycle, so counting years never finds them. On this site a secret friend ranks one step below a trine.
Who is the Pig not compatible with?
The Pig's one difficult match is the Snake, which sits opposite it on the twelve-year cycle, six years apart; the tradition reads that clash as its hardest pairing. The six opposite pairs are Liu Chong in Chinese. This reading marks no other animal against the Pig, and even the clash is a rating of two birth years rather than a ban.
How compatible is the Pig with each animal?
Each row below is one pairing, sorted by relation: trine, secret friend, neutral, then clash. Most rows are neutral, which means only that none of the three relations applies; it is not a halfway mark between good and bad. Every relation in it matches the lists on Wikipedia's Chinese zodiac article and on yourchineseastrology.com; the two sources agree on all of them. None of the Pig's pairings has a page of its own, so this table is the full reading for every one of them.
| Pair | Relation | What the tradition reads | Steps apart on the cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pig and Rabbit | trine | one of the four trine groups, which the tradition reads as the easiest match | 4 |
| Pig and Goat | trine | one of the four trine groups, which the tradition reads as the easiest match | 4 |
| Pig and Tiger | secret friend | one of the six harmony pairs | 3 |
| Pig and Rat | neutral | no named relation | 1 |
| Pig and Ox | neutral | no named relation | 2 |
| Pig and Dragon | neutral | no named relation | 5 |
| Pig and Horse | neutral | no named relation | 5 |
| Pig and Monkey | neutral | no named relation | 3 |
| Pig and Rooster | neutral | no named relation | 2 |
| Pig and Dog | neutral | no named relation | 1 |
| Pig and Snake | clash | one of the six clash pairs | 6 |
The same animal: Pig and Pig reads as same animal. One reference, yourchineseastrology.com, names the Pig as one of four self-punishing animals and reads this doubled pair as a clash; we show it as its own relation and say so. Order: trine, secret friend, neutral, clash, and within each relation the cycle order counted from the Rat. Neutral means none of the three relations this site reads applies; the tradition's harms and punishments are outside this chart.
Is Pig and Pig a good match?
A doubled Pig is its own relation on this page. One reference, yourchineseastrology.com, names the Pig as one of four self-punishing animals and reads two of them together as a clash. We keep the pair as its own relation, because no second source says the same.
Who should a Pig marry?
The Pig's best matches for marriage are the same as for love: the Rabbit, the Goat and the Tiger, and the tradition forbids no pairing. Gender is not an input, so a Pig woman and a Pig man get the same answer. Chinese astrology also gives each year an element, which this reading does not use. The tradition names the easiest pairings and leaves the decision with the two people.
Which animals are the Pig's best friends?
Friendship reads the same relations as love. Secret friend is the tradition's own name for one of them, and the two trine partners read as easy company too. One chart covers love, marriage and friendship on this page, so any single friendship is a row in the table above.
Why do other charts list different matches for the Pig?
For the Pig, most charts agree with this page on its best matches and on its clash. This page reads three relations and no more. Longer lists usually come from the tradition's harms and punishments, or from personality sketches, and this reading uses neither. That is why a pairing shown here as neutral can carry a harsher label on a fuller chart.
To check the Pig against any one animal, pick both on the hub; the chart in the strip at the top shows all twelve against each other.
How we calculate it
- The birth year gives an animal, counted from the lunar new year rather than 1 January, so a birthday in January or early February may belong to the previous year's animal. The tool says so and offers both.
- The twelve animals sit in four trines of three, which the tradition reads as the easiest matches.
- Six harmony pairs, the secret friends, are read as good, and the six pairs opposite each other on the cycle are read as difficult.
- The verdict is the strongest of those readings that applies to the two animals, and neutral when none does.
The full rule, in plain words and in pseudocode, is on the methodology page.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Chinese zodiac: The San He, Liu He and Liu Chong lists, and the years table
- Your Chinese Astrology, Chinese Zodiac Compatibility: The three relation lists, and the self-punishment reading