The Six Harm Pairs in the Chinese Zodiac, Explained

By Mithila Labs

Most people who look up Chinese zodiac compatibility learn two things: which signs make the best matches, and which signs clash. A third group of pairs gets far less attention. Traditional charts also list six "harm" pairs, and they are easy to miss because they do not look special. Rat and Goat do not sit opposite each other, and nobody would call them an obvious bad match. Yet the old chart still marks them.

This article explains what a harm pair is, lists all six, and shows a pattern we found in the lists on this site that ties the six pairs together.

What "harm" means here

The traditional name is liu hai, written 六害, which means "six harms." It does not mean one sign will hurt the other. Think of it as slow, low-key friction rather than a big collision. A clash is loud and obvious. A harm is quiet: small misunderstandings pile up when nobody talks about them.

That is how this site rates these pairs. A harm pairing is marked "Challenging," one step easier than a clash, which is marked "Difficult." Most pairs in the chart fall into neither group and are simply neutral, which means the outcome depends on the two people far more than on their birth years.

The six harm pairs

• Rat and Goat
• Ox and Horse
• Tiger and Snake
• Rabbit and Dragon
• Monkey and Pig
• Rooster and Dog

These match the list on a BaZi reference page about the six harms, which gives the same six pairs and no others. That page describes harms as the mildest kind of difficulty in the chart, but one that keeps showing up in small ways.

You cannot find harm pairs by counting years the way you can with an affinity triangle (signs four years apart) or a clash (signs six years apart). Rat and Goat are five steps apart. Tiger and Snake are three. Rabbit and Dragon are one. No spacing pattern covers all six, so the list has to be looked up.

A pattern we noticed in the lists

While checking this site's compatibility rules, we noticed something about the six pairs. It comes from our own check, and we are not claiming the old astrologers described it this way.

Start with two other lists you may know. The six secret friends are Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, and Horse and Goat. The six clash pairs are Rat and Horse, Ox and Goat, Tiger and Monkey, Rabbit and Rooster, Dragon and Dog, and Snake and Pig.

Now take the harm pair Rat and Goat. The Rat's clash partner is the Horse. The Horse is also the Goat's secret friend. Check it the other way: the Goat's clash partner is the Ox, and the Ox is the Rat's secret friend.

Put simply, each sign in a harm pair is closely tied to the other sign's hardest match. The Goat's best friend is the Rat's worst match, and the Rat's best friend is the Goat's worst match.

Every one of the six pairs passes this check in both directions. We also tried it on all 66 possible pairs of signs, and only these six pass. So the list is not random, even though the year gaps look random.

What a harm pair looks like day to day

Because a harm builds slowly, it rarely shows up as one big fight. It looks more like two people who keep getting each other slightly wrong. One person reads a short answer as cold. The other reads a long explanation as nagging.

The fix is small too. Say the minor irritation early, while it is still minor. Pairs on this list often do well once both people know to expect it. If you are curious about one match, try the pairing pages for Rat and Goat or Rabbit and Dragon. Each explains how the match tends to play out, given each sign's usual habits.

How to check your own pair

1. Find your animal and your partner's animal. If either birthday falls in January or February, check the Chinese New Year dates first, because the zodiac year starts on Chinese New Year, not January 1.
2. Look for the pair in the six above. If it is there, treat it as a gentle reminder to talk early.
3. If it is not there, check the secret friends and clash lists in the section above, then read the full compatibility guide for the rest.

Some sources describe a separate group called "punishments." This article covers only the six harms.

How much weight to give it

None of this predicts your life. It is a traditional way of describing tendencies, kept alive because it gives people an easy way to talk about habits. Plenty of Rat and Goat couples are happy, and plenty of "best match" couples are not. Treat a harm pair as a prompt to talk early, not as a verdict. To see how harm pairs fit alongside the other groups, read the guide to San He and Liu He.

Last checked: October 2026. This page is for entertainment and general interest. It is not advice about relationships, health, money or any other decision.