Patterns › Bullish engulfing vs Bearish engulfing
Look-alikes
Bullish engulfing vs Bearish engulfing
They look alike, so beginners mix them up. Here is what each one means, and how often each one worked on real charts.
Bullish engulfing
A green body swallows the red one before it. Buyers took control.
A bullish engulfing pattern has two candles and appears after a fall. First comes a red candle, then a bigger green candle whose body covers the whole red body. It shows sellers were in charge, then buyers pushed price above where the red candle started. It is a sign of a possible turn up, but it still needs support and follow-through.
Comparing the wicks instead of the bodies when checking if the green candle engulfs the red one.
Bearish engulfing
A red body swallows the green one before it. Sellers took control.
A bearish engulfing pattern has two candles and appears after a rise. First comes a green candle, then a bigger red candle whose body covers the whole green body. It shows buyers were in charge, then sellers pushed price below where the green candle started. It warns of a possible turn down, but it still needs resistance and follow-through.
Comparing the wicks instead of the bodies when checking if the red candle engulfs the green one.
Real odds side by side
| Pattern | Found | Target first | Stop first | Went nowhere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullish engulfing | 17,563 | 34% | 56% | 10% |
| Bearish engulfing | 19,165 | 35% | 58% | 8% |
Counted by the Trading Class research engine on real past candles: entry at the signal candle's close, target 1.5 × ATR(14), stop 1 × ATR(14), 12 candles to decide, a candle that touches both counts as the stop. How we count. Past data, not a forecast and not advice.