Compatibility Check

Compatibility: Which Reading Fits?

Every reading compares two birth dates through the Five Elements. Pick the relationship you have in mind, and the page opens set up for it.

  • Love Compatibility

    For dating, engaged, or married couples: where you lift each other up and where you might rub.

  • Friendship Compatibility

    Why time with one friend feels easy and with another takes more energy.

  • Business Compatibility

    For partners and coworkers: where you support each other and where roles need to be clear.

  • Bond Circle

    Map a whole group at once: family, friends, or a team, with you at the center.

Don't know your own chart yet? Start with the Saju Calculator.

How our compatibility reading works

Gunghap is the traditional Korean practice of comparing two people's saju, or Four Pillars, originally to judge a match before marriage. Traditional readers weigh many factors. Our tool is a simplified version that looks at only three of them, and every compatibility page linked above uses the same three; only the closing advice changes for couples, friends or work partners.

1. Your two Day Masters. Your Day Master is the top character (the Heavenly Stem) of your birth day's pillar, and it stands for you in the chart. It belongs to one of five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water. Each element has a bolder form (yang) and a gentler form (yin), which is why our results use names like Sunshine (bolder Fire) and Firefly (gentler Fire). Two Day Masters are related in one of three ways: one element feeds the other (Wood feeds Fire), one element checks the other (Water checks Fire), or both share the same element.

2. Five Element balance. We count the elements in each chart: eight characters, or six if the birth time is unknown. If one person has none of an element and the other has some, we say the second person fills that gap. This is a simple count. Traditional readers also ask which element a particular chart actually needs; our tool does not.

3. Day Branch harmony. Each birth day also carries one of the twelve animal signs. Six pairs are traditionally called the Six Harmonies (yukhap): Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, Horse and Goat. This is the animal of your birth day, not your birth-year animal, which popular zodiac pairing usually uses. The tradition also has other relationships, such as the Three Harmonies and clashes; they are not part of our score.

The three checks count equally. Together they make a score out of 100 and a grade from A to D.

Example: a compatibility reading for two birth dates

Two fictional people: one born on June 1, 1988 at noon, the other on January 15, 1989, birth time unknown. Their Day Masters are Firefly (gentler Fire) and Ivy (gentler Wood), so Wood feeds Fire. Each fills one gap for the other, but neither chart has any Metal, so neither person can fill that gap. Their Day Branches are Pig and Pig, not one of the Six Harmonies. The result is 63 points, grade C. A C suggests a few areas worth talking through together. It is not a verdict on your relationship.

Gunghap compatibility: common questions

Why does my January birthday show the year before? Saju years begin at the solar term called Ipchun, which falls between February 3 and 5 depending on the year, not on January 1 or on Lunar New Year, which everyday zodiac charts often use. Someone born on January 15, 1989 is placed in the saju year 1988.

Are our birth dates stored? No. The reading runs in your browser and does not send your birth details to our servers. Bond Circle is the one feature that stores data with us; see our Privacy Policy.

Related reading: Saju Compatibility: How to Check If You're a Match · What Is a Day Master?

For entertainment purposes only. Not medical, legal, financial or psychological advice. Read the full Disclaimer. Questions? Visit our Contact page.

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