Metal · Yin
Rooster
Brings. Notices detail others miss and says so. Prepares more thoroughly than required.
Struggles with. Critical out loud, and mistakes bluntness for honesty.
Traditional clash
Rooster and Rabbit
Traditional clash
45%
Directly opposite on the wheel. Traditionally the most difficult pairing, because the qualities each of you values are the ones the other neglects.
Wood · Yin
Rabbit
Brings. Keeps the peace intelligently and notices what everyone needs before it is said.
Struggles with. Avoids confrontation past the point of usefulness, and withdraws instead of arguing.
Distance on the wheel6 of 12
RelationTraditional clash
Same fixed elementNo
How Chinese compatibility works
The rule is positional. Animals four apart form an affinity triangle and are read as natural allies — they share instincts and pace. Animals six apart sit directly opposite and are the traditional clash: each values what the other neglects.
This differs from Western astrology, which uses angles on a 360-degree circle. Here the wheel has twelve positions and the relationships are counted in steps, not degrees.
Traditional pairings sometimes override the geometry — a few combinations are named explicitly as friends or enemies in the old texts, and those take precedence.
Computed from 110 years of real lunar new year dates
The arithmetic behind this pairing
Chinese years run 354 or 384 days, so each animal collects a different number of days across the century — the shares below are not 8.33% each.
Positions apart on the cycle
6 — the classical clash
Pairings at this distance
6 of 78
Days assigned to Rooster
3,305 · 8.3%
Days assigned to Rabbit
3,278 · 8.23%
Share of all pairings
1.366%
6 positions apart · 6 of 78 pairings share that distance · 1.366% of all pairings. The clash — one pairing in thirteen.
Possible age gaps — fixed by the cycle
Because the animals sit at fixed positions, two people with these signs can only differ in age by certain numbers of years. Not approximately — exactly these:
6
years apart
18
years apart
30
years apart
42
years apart
Recent birth-year combinations
Earth Rooster 2029 & Water Rabbit 2023
6 years apart
Fire Rooster 2017 & Metal Rabbit 2011
6 years apart
Fire Rooster 2017 & Water Rabbit 2023
6 years apart
Wood Rooster 2005 & Earth Rabbit 1999
6 years apart
Wood Rooster 2005 & Metal Rabbit 2011
6 years apart
Water Rooster 1993 & Fire Rabbit 1987
6 years apart
Water Rooster 1993 & Earth Rabbit 1999
6 years apart
Metal Rooster 1981 & Wood Rabbit 1975
6 years apart
The five versions of each animal
The animal repeats every 12 years but the element every 60, so each partner comes in five variants — and the combination you actually have is one of 25.
Water Rooster
1993
Wood Rooster
2005
Fire Rooster
2017
Earth Rooster
2029
Metal Rooster
1981
Fire Rabbit
1987
Earth Rabbit
1999
Metal Rabbit
2011
Water Rabbit
2023
Wood Rabbit
1975
Birth years for this pairing
⚠️ Each year starts at the lunar new year, not 1 January — if either of you was born in January or early February, check the exact date before trusting the animal.
Rooster
1969 · 1981 · 1993 · 2005 · 2017 · 2029Rabbit
1963 · 1975 · 1987 · 1999 · 2011 · 2023