Bullish Harami Cross and Bearish Harami Cross: How to Read and Trade Them
Last updated: 3 July 2026 · By Spencer Li, CFTe
A harami cross is a two-candle reversal pattern: a large candle in the direction of the trend, followed by a small doji (a candle that opens and closes at nearly the same price) that sits entirely inside the body of the first candle. The bullish harami cross forms after a downtrend and warns of a possible turn up. The bearish harami cross forms after an uptrend and warns of a possible turn down. The “cross” just means the second candle is a doji rather than a small solid candle. On its own it is a warning, not a trade. The pattern works best when you wait for confirmation (price following through in the new direction) and when it lands at a level that already matters, like major support or resistance. Personally, I treat it as an alert to pay attention, not a signal to fire. Here is how to read each version, when to weight it more, and how to enter and manage it if you choose to trade it.
What is a harami cross?
“Harami” is the Japanese word for pregnant, and that is the picture: a big candle (the mother) carrying a tiny doji inside it (the baby). The doji must be completely contained within the real body (the open-to-close range) of the candle before it.
The story it tells is simple. The first candle is a strong move in the current trend, one side firmly in control. Then momentum stalls. The doji is a candle that opens and closes at almost the same price, so it is a picture of indecision. The side that was winning has stopped pushing. That hesitation is the whole signal.
A harami cross with a normal small candle is just a harami. The doji version is the stronger one, because a doji is a cleaner picture of balance than a small solid candle.
Bullish harami cross vs bearish harami cross
Same structure, mirror images. The bullish one shows up after a drop, the bearish one after a rise.
| Bullish harami cross | Bearish harami cross | |
|---|---|---|
| Forms after | A downtrend | An uptrend |
| First candle | Long down candle (red/black), sellers in control | Long up candle (green/white), buyers in control |
| Second candle | Doji, opens above the prior close, inside the body | Doji, inside the body |
| What it signals | Sellers losing conviction, possible turn up | Buyers losing conviction, possible turn down |
| Confirmation | Price rises above the open of the first candle | Price drops below the open of the first candle |
| Invalidated when | Price keeps falling, no follow-through | Price keeps rising after the doji |
In both cases the doji is the same message: the dominant side just blinked.
Why confirmation matters more than the pattern
Here is the honest part. A harami cross by itself is a low-conviction signal. The doji says indecision, and indecision resolves in either direction. Plenty of them stall and then keep going the original way.
That is why most disciplined traders wait for confirmation before acting. Confirmation is simply price following through in the expected direction:
- Bullish: price rises above the open of the first (down) candle.
- Bearish: price drops below the open of the first (up) candle.
Sometimes price pauses for a few candles after the doji before it moves. That is fine. You are waiting for the follow-through, not for it to happen on a schedule. If it never comes, you never had a trade.
What makes a harami cross worth more weight
Not all harami crosses are equal. The pattern earns more significance when other things line up with it. This is where it stops being a random two-candle shape and starts being a real setup.
- Location. A bullish harami cross at major support is worth far more than one in the middle of nowhere, especially with no nearby resistance overhead to cap the move. A bearish one near major resistance, same idea.
- Momentum. Watch the RSI (Relative Strength Index, a momentum oscillator from 0 to 100). A bullish harami cross is stronger when RSI is turning up from oversold. A bearish one is stronger when RSI is rolling over from overbought.
- Confluence. When the level, the pattern, and the momentum reading all point the same way, you have a real edge. One of the three alone is just noise.
Do note that, a harami cross floating in the middle of a range, with nothing else agreeing, is not a trade. It is a candle.
How to trade a harami cross
First, you do not have to trade it at all. Many traders use it purely as a heads-up to watch for a reversal. That is a perfectly valid use. If you are already long and a bearish harami cross appears and price starts dropping, that is your cue to take profits. If you are short and a bullish harami cross appears and price starts rising, that is your cue to cover.
If you do choose to enter, here is the structure.
| Bullish harami cross (long) | Bearish harami cross (short) | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | When price moves above the open of the first candle | When price drops below the open of the first candle |
| Stop loss | Below the doji low, or below the low of the first candle | Above the doji high, or above the high of the first candle |
| Aggressive option | Enter as the doji forms (less reliable) | Enter as the doji forms (less reliable) |
The big catch: a harami cross has no built-in profit target. The pattern tells you where a reversal might start, not where it ends. So you have to bring your own exit. A trailing stop, a Fibonacci extension or retracement level, the next major support/resistance, or a fixed risk-to-reward ratio all work. Pick one before you enter, not after.
Where the human edge comes in
A scanner will flag every harami cross on the chart for you in a second. That part is free now. What it will not do is tell you that this one sits in dead space and the one at support three days from now is the only one worth taking. It will not size the position so the wide doji-to-first-candle stop still risks the same dollar amount. It will not hold you back from firing on the doji before confirmation arrives. The pattern is the easy part. Knowing which harami cross is a setup and which is just a candle is the judgment, and it is the first of the Five Edges a machine cannot trade for you.
FAQ
Is a harami cross bullish or bearish?
It can be either. A bullish harami cross forms after a downtrend and signals a possible reversal up. A bearish harami cross forms after an uptrend and signals a possible reversal down. The direction depends on the trend it interrupts.
What is the difference between a harami and a harami cross?
Both are two-candle patterns where a small second candle sits inside the body of a large first candle. In a regular harami the second candle is a small solid candle. In a harami cross the second candle is a doji (open and close nearly equal), which is a cleaner picture of indecision and generally the stronger signal.
How do you confirm a harami cross?
Wait for follow-through. A bullish harami cross is confirmed when price rises above the open of the first candle. A bearish one is confirmed when price drops below the open of the first candle. Confirmation at a major support or resistance level, with RSI agreeing, is stronger still.
Where do you put the stop loss on a harami cross?
On a bullish (long) entry, place it below the doji low or below the low of the first candle. On a bearish (short) entry, place it above the doji high or above the high of the first candle. Then size the position down so the wider stop still risks the same amount.
Does a harami cross have a profit target?
No. The harami cross does not project a target the way some patterns do. You have to set your own exit, using a trailing stop, Fibonacci levels, the next support/resistance, or a fixed risk-to-reward ratio.
So, is the harami cross worth trading? My honest take: not as a standalone signal, but as a high-quality alert that earns its keep when it lands at a level that matters. Use it to wake up, not to fire blind.
If you want the full set of candlestick reversals mapped to the same idea, read the pillar: The Definitive Guide to Candlestick Patterns.
Want the system behind the patterns? Grab the free 15-Minute Swing Trading Starter Kit. It’s the exact routine I use to scan once a day and trade any market in 15 minutes.
About the author. Spencer Li is the founder of Synapse Trading and a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) with 15 years of trading across stocks, forex, crypto, commodities, and bonds. His trade log is public, 404 trades, losses left in. He teaches low-risk swing trading in 15 minutes a day, one system for any market.
Education, not financial advice. Synapse Trading is not licensed by MAS to advise on investment products. Trading carries risk of loss; past performance is not indicative of future results.
Related
Definitive Guide to Candlestick Patterns (pillar) · Doji candlestick pattern · Bullish and bearish engulfing patterns · Continuation and reversal patterns
