Rooster 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 Rooster matches best with the Ox and the Snake, its two trine partners, and with the Dragon, its secret friend; its most difficult match is the Rabbit, the animal opposite it on the twelve-year cycle.
The Rooster is the tenth animal of the twelve-year cycle, and this page reads it against all twelve, the Rooster included, by the tradition's three relations: trine, secret friend and clash. To pair the Rooster with any other animal, check two Chinese zodiac animals on the hub. The table below is the full answer; the sections explain it one relation at a time.
Which years are Rooster years?
Rooster 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 Rooster. Not sure you are a Rooster? Use the year table to find your animal by birth year, with the date each year begins.
Who is the Rooster's best match?
Best match. The tradition's easiest matches for the Rooster are the Ox and the Snake: the Ox, Snake and Rooster trine, animals four years apart. The secret friend, the Dragon, makes one of the six harmony pairs with it.
Worst match. Rooster and Rabbit 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.
A trine is one of four groups of three animals spaced evenly round the cycle, called San He in Chinese, and the tradition reads any two members of one as its easiest match. It ranks nobody inside the group, so the Rooster's two trine partners stand level. The search for the Rooster's "soulmate" ends in the same place: the tradition names no single one, only two trine partners and a secret friend.
Who is the Rooster's secret friend?
The Rooster's secret friend is the Dragon: together they make one of the six harmony pairs the tradition calls secret friends. The six pairs sit at different distances on the cycle, so no count of years finds them; the list, Liu He in Chinese, does. On this site's ladder a secret friend is the second good relation, one step below a trine.
Who is the Rooster not compatible with?
The Rabbit sits directly opposite the Rooster on the twelve-year cycle, six years apart, and the tradition reads that clash as its most difficult match. The six opposite pairs are called Liu Chong in Chinese. It is the only animal of the twelve that this reading marks as difficult for the Rooster. Difficult is not forbidden: the tradition names the hardest pairing and leaves the choice with the two people.
How compatible is the Rooster with each animal?
Every other animal has one row below, grouped by relation: the trine partners first, then the secret friend, then the animals with no named relation, and the clash last. Neutral means none of the three relations applies. It is not a middle grade and it is not a warning. 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 Rooster'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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster and Ox | trine | one of the four trine groups, which the tradition reads as the easiest match | 4 |
| Rooster and Snake | trine | one of the four trine groups, which the tradition reads as the easiest match | 4 |
| Rooster and Dragon | secret friend | one of the six harmony pairs | 5 |
| Rooster and Rat | neutral | no named relation | 3 |
| Rooster and Tiger | neutral | no named relation | 5 |
| Rooster and Horse | neutral | no named relation | 3 |
| Rooster and Goat | neutral | no named relation | 2 |
| Rooster and Monkey | neutral | no named relation | 1 |
| Rooster and Dog | neutral | no named relation | 1 |
| Rooster and Pig | neutral | no named relation | 2 |
| Rooster and Rabbit | clash | one of the six clash pairs | 6 |
The same animal: Rooster and Rooster reads as same animal. One reference, yourchineseastrology.com, names the Rooster 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 Rooster and Rooster a good match?
A doubled Rooster is its own relation on this page. One reference, yourchineseastrology.com, names the Rooster 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 Rooster marry?
The Rooster's best matches for marriage are the same as for love: the Ox, the Snake and the Dragon, and the tradition forbids no pairing. Gender is not an input, so a Rooster woman and a Rooster 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 Rooster'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 Rooster?
Some charts for the Rooster list three animals as its least compatible where this page names one. 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 Rooster 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