In Korean zodiac compatibility, every animal has two “three-harmony” partners (삼합 samhap 三合), one “six-harmony” partner (육합 yukhap 六合), one direct opposite (충 chung 沖) and one “resentment” pair (원진 wonjin 怨嗔). So a Rat gets along most easily with the Ox, Monkey and Dragon, sits opposite the Horse, and is said to bicker with the Goat. The whole set for all twelve animals is in the table below, followed by a short profile of each animal’s friends and frictions, written the way Koreans actually talk about it: as a quick, playful check, not a verdict.
The rules themselves (why the trios are four steps apart, why the opposites are six) are explained in the Korean zodiac compatibility post. This one is organized by animal, so you can find yours and read only your row.
All 12 animals at a glance
| Your animal | Branch | Element | Samhap (trio) | Yukhap (pair) | Chung (opposite) | Wonjin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rat 쥐 | 子 | water | Monkey, Dragon | Ox | Horse | Goat |
| Ox 소 | 丑 | earth | Snake, Rooster | Rat | Goat | Horse |
| Tiger 호랑이 | 寅 | wood | Horse, Dog | Pig | Monkey | Rooster |
| Rabbit 토끼 | 卯 | wood | Pig, Goat | Dog | Rooster | Monkey |
| Dragon 용 | 辰 | earth | Monkey, Rat | Rooster | Dog | Pig |
| Snake 뱀 | 巳 | fire | Rooster, Ox | Monkey | Pig | Dog |
| Horse 말 | 午 | fire | Tiger, Dog | Goat | Rat | Ox |
| Goat 양 | 未 | earth | Pig, Rabbit | Horse | Ox | Rat |
| Monkey 원숭이 | 申 | metal | Rat, Dragon | Snake | Tiger | Rabbit |
| Rooster 닭 | 酉 | metal | Snake, Ox | Dragon | Rabbit | Tiger |
| Dog 개 | 戌 | earth | Tiger, Horse | Rabbit | Dragon | Snake |
| Pig 돼지 | 亥 | water | Rabbit, Goat | Tiger | Snake | Dragon |
Your animal is the branch of your birth year, and in saju (사주 四柱) the year changes at Ipchun, around February 4, not on January 1. If you were born in January or early February, check the previous year’s animal.
Animal by animal
Each profile lists the easy links first, then the ones that take a little more care. “Harm” (해 hae) and “break” (파 pa) are two minor friction relationships that Korean readers mention less often than chung and wonjin; they’re included where they add something.
Rat 子
Easy company: the Ox (yukhap, the classic “we just click” pair) and the Monkey and Dragon (water trio). Across the table: the Horse, your direct opposite, which tends to mean lively arguments and mutual fascination. The Goat is your wonjin pair, and the folk image is two people who get on each other’s nerves over small things like punctuality. The Rat and the Rabbit have a minor “punishment” link, read as a tendency to be too blunt with each other.
Ox 丑
Easy company: the Rat (yukhap) and the Snake and Rooster (metal trio), a famously industrious group. Opposite: the Goat, another earth animal, so the clash reads as two stubborn people with different methods. Wonjin: the Horse, which is also a “harm” pair, so Ox and Horse households are a running joke in Korea for low-level grumbling. The Ox, Goat and Dog form a three-way punishment set, read as friction over obligations.
Tiger 寅
Easy company: the Pig (yukhap) and the Horse and Dog (fire trio), the action-movie cast of the zodiac. Opposite: the Monkey, the classic rivalry of two quick, proud animals. Wonjin: the Rooster, who tends to find the Tiger loud and be found fussy in return. Tiger and Pig are a double relationship, yukhap and break, which Koreans read as a close pair that occasionally knocks things over together.
Rabbit 卯
Easy company: the Dog (yukhap, loyal and calm) and the Pig and Goat (wood trio), the gentlest trio in the zodiac. Opposite: the Rooster, precise where the Rabbit is soft. Wonjin: the Monkey, whose teasing the Rabbit tends to take personally. Rabbit and Dragon have a minor “harm” link, often described as the Rabbit feeling overshadowed.
Dragon 辰
Easy company: the Rooster (yukhap, a surprisingly steady pair) and the Monkey and Rat (water trio), the quick-thinking group. Opposite: the Dog, earth against earth, read as two loyalties colliding. Wonjin: the Pig, slow to warm to each other. Two Dragons together form a “self-punishment” pair in the old tables, which just means two big personalities need separate rooms.
Snake 巳
Easy company: the Monkey (yukhap) and the Rooster and Ox (metal trio). Opposite: the Pig, fire against water. Wonjin: the Dog, the pair that tends to misread each other’s silences. Snake and Monkey are another double link, yukhap plus minor friction, read as a magnetic pair who argue about the small stuff. Snake and Tiger have a punishment link, so that pair gets the “talk it through” advice.
Horse 午
Easy company: the Goat (yukhap, warm and easygoing) and the Tiger and Dog (fire trio). Opposite: the Rat, the most famous clash in the zodiac. Wonjin and harm: the Ox, who tends to find the Horse flighty. Two Horses form a self-punishment pair, which is the zodiac’s way of saying two sprinters need a plan for who holds the map.
Goat 未
Easy company: the Horse (yukhap) and the Pig and Rabbit (wood trio). Opposite: the Ox, the stubborn-versus-stubborn pair. Wonjin and harm: the Rat, the small-irritations pair. Goat, Ox and Dog form the three-way punishment set, read as three earth animals who each think they’re the responsible one. Since 2027 is a Goat year (丁未), these links also describe how each animal meets the year.
Monkey 申
Easy company: the Snake (yukhap) and the Rat and Dragon (water trio). Opposite: the Tiger, the proud-rivals pair. Wonjin: the Rabbit. Monkey and Pig have a minor harm link, usually read as different senses of humor. Monkey, Tiger and Snake form a punishment trio; in a friend group that’s the three who all want to drive.
Rooster 酉
Easy company: the Dragon (yukhap) and the Snake and Ox (metal trio). Opposite: the Rabbit. Wonjin: the Tiger. Rooster and Dog have a minor harm link, the perfectionist and the loyalist disagreeing about standards. Two Roosters are a self-punishment pair, which Koreans read as two critics who should not review each other’s work.
Dog 戌
Easy company: the Rabbit (yukhap) and the Tiger and Horse (fire trio). Opposite: the Dragon. Wonjin: the Snake, the pair that tends to mistrust first and ask later. Dog, Ox and Goat share the punishment set. The Dog’s reputation in Korean folk reading is the steady friend who takes the clash with the Dragon harder than the Dragon does.
Pig 亥
Easy company: the Tiger (yukhap) and the Rabbit and Goat (wood trio). Opposite: the Snake. Wonjin: the Dragon. Pig and Monkey have a minor harm link. Two Pigs are a self-punishment pair, usually described as two generous people who both forget to say no.
How Koreans actually use this
Asking someone’s animal (띠 ddi) is everyday small talk, partly because it hints at age, which matters for Korean grammar. Compatibility talk follows naturally. A few real-life uses:
- Dating and group chats. “We’re samhap!” is a cheerful thing to discover. “We’re wonjin” is said with a laugh and then a look.
- Family. Older relatives sometimes check a couple’s animals before anything else. Wonjin pairs in particular have a folk reputation, which is why it’s the one your future mother-in-law might mention.
- Teams. Some people enjoy mapping a work team or a friend group onto the trios to see who “pulls in the same direction.”
- Years. Each year has an animal too. In 2027, the Goat year, Ox-born people meet their chung and Rat-born people meet their wonjin, which Korean readers frame as years to tidy routines and name small irritations early.
Most Koreans treat all of it as a conversation piece. The full compatibility reading, gunghap (궁합 宮合), compares two whole saju charts, where the day pillar matters far more than the year animal. A clash by year animal and a harmony by day branch is a very ordinary combination.
Reading your row kindly
The relationships are symbolic descriptions of how two energies mix, not scores. Three habits that keep this fun:
- Treat chung as contrast, not conflict. Opposites are also the pairs that cover each other’s blind spots.
- Treat wonjin as a reminder to speak up early. The folk image is small irritations piling up, so say the small thing before it becomes a big one.
- Treat samhap and yukhap as a head start, not a promise of ease. Harmony pairs still have to do the dishes.
And if you’re the Rat reading about the Goat, remember the relationship is symmetrical: the Goat is reading the same line about you.
FAQ
Which Korean zodiac animals are most compatible with each other?
In the classic rules, each animal’s easiest links are its six-harmony (yukhap) partner and its two three-harmony (samhap) partners. The yukhap pairs are Rat-Ox, Tiger-Pig, Rabbit-Dog, Dragon-Rooster, Snake-Monkey and Horse-Goat. The samhap trios are Monkey-Rat-Dragon, Tiger-Horse-Dog, Snake-Rooster-Ox and Pig-Rabbit-Goat. These are read as cooperation and ease, as symbols rather than rules about real people.
Which Korean zodiac animals clash?
The six chung (opposite) pairs are Rat-Horse, Ox-Goat, Tiger-Monkey, Rabbit-Rooster, Dragon-Dog and Snake-Pig. Korea also pays attention to the six wonjin (“resentment”) pairs: Rat-Goat, Ox-Horse, Tiger-Rooster, Rabbit-Monkey, Dragon-Pig and Snake-Dog. In saju symbolism a clash means contrast and movement, not failure; many clash pairs balance each other well.
Is the year animal enough to judge compatibility?
No. The year animal is one of eight characters in a saju chart. A fuller reading, gunghap, compares both people’s day masters, element balance and branch links across all four pillars, and the day pillar carries the most weight for close relationships. Year-animal compatibility is the quick party version, fun and often surprisingly apt, but it’s the beginning of the picture.
What if my partner and I are a wonjin pair?
Enjoy the joke and keep going. Wonjin is a folk relationship read as a tendency toward small irritations, and the practical advice attached to it is good for anyone: name minor frictions early and kindly. Many long, happy Korean marriages are wonjin pairs. SajuBunny treats compatibility results as conversation starters, never as reasons to end or avoid a relationship.
Try it with the Moon Rabbit
Pick any two animals on the zodiac compatibility pages to see every link between them worked out by the same rules, or draw two saju cards to compare whole charts.