Ox and Rat in love
Loyal, practical and affectionate, with shared goals for security and family.
Six harmonies — secret friends
Ox and Rat Compatibility
Ox and Rat compatibility: they sit 1 apart in the twelve-year cycle, a pairing the tradition classes as “Six harmonies — secret friends”. We score it 88%.
- Relation
- Six harmonies Liu He, 六合
- Steps apart
- 1 in the twelve-year cycle
- Next Ox year
- 2033 starts Jan 31, 2033
- Next Rat year
- 2032 starts Feb 11, 2032
New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory calendar.
Six harmonies — secret friends
88%
Are the Ox and Rat compatible?
Rat and Ox form one of the six harmonies, traditionally among the best pairings in the zodiac. The Rat brings charm, ideas and opportunities; the Ox brings patience, strength and follow-through. The Rat appreciates the Ox's reliability, and the Ox values the Rat's cleverness.
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Working together
An excellent partnership: the Rat spots the opportunity, the Ox builds it.
Where it goes wrong
The Rat's social life and the Ox's preference for staying home.
Over time
How an Ox–Rat relationship usually unfolds
- At first. One of the six harmonies: the Rat's quickness and the Ox's steadiness fit from the first meeting.
- Once settled. A practical, secure household; the Rat brings opportunity and the Ox brings follow-through.
- What keeps it working. Balancing the Rat's social life with the Ox's preference for home.
Fixed elements
Earth Ox, water Rat
generating · controlling
The Ox’s earth dams the Rat’s water — banks that can channel a river or block it. On the controlling cycle the Ox sets the limits for the Rat.
The fixed element belongs to the animal and never changes; the element of a birth year (wood, fire, earth, metal or water) rotates every two years — see the years below.
On the twelve-year wheel
Where the Ox and the Rat sit on the wheel
- Ox–Rat, 1 step apart: Liu He, the six harmonies.
- San He triangles. Rat with the Dragon and the Monkey (dashed); Ox with the Snake and the Rooster.
- Clash axes. Rat–Horse; Ox–Goat.
- Secret friends. The Ox and the Rat are each other’s Liu He partner.
- Six harms. Ox and Horse; Rat and Goat — not drawn.
Computed from 108 years of real lunar new year dates
The arithmetic behind this pairing
How the Ox and the Rat sit on the cycle, and the share of the century each one actually holds.
Lunar years run 353 to 385 days, so the Rat ends up with 27 more days than the Ox over the 108-year table: 3,306 against 3,279. As a pairing, one position apart, they make up 1.393% of all pairings.
Possible age gaps — fixed by the cycle
An Ox and a Rat can only be these numbers of years apart:
1
year apart
11
years apart
13
years apart
23
years apart
25
years apart
35
years apart
37
years apart
47
years apart
Recent birth-year combinations
| Ox | Rat | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Metal Ox 2021 | Metal Rat 2020 | 1 year apart |
| Earth Ox 2009 | Earth Rat 2008 | 1 year apart |
| Earth Ox 2009 | Metal Rat 2020 | 11 years apart |
| Fire Ox 1997 | Fire Rat 1996 | 1 year apart |
| Fire Ox 1997 | Earth Rat 2008 | 11 years apart |
| Wood Ox 1985 | Wood Rat 1984 | 1 year apart |
| Wood Ox 1985 | Fire Rat 1996 | 11 years apart |
| Water Ox 1973 | Water Rat 1972 | 1 year apart |
Birth years for this pairing
Born in January or early February? Check the date before counting yourself an Ox or a Rat.
Ox
1961 · 1973 · 1985 · 1997 · 2009 · 2021Rat
1960 · 1972 · 1984 · 1996 · 2008 · 2020Cite this page
AstroHot. “Ox and Rat Compatibility in the Chinese Zodiac.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/compatibility/ox/rat/
For Wikipedia
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