Bearish Engulfing candlestick pattern
A bearish engulfing pattern is a red candle whose body fully covers the body of the green candle before it. It shows sellers taking control after a rise.
How to spot a Bearish Engulfing
- Two candles: a smaller green candle, then a larger red one.
- The red body opens at or above the green close and closes at or below the green open, covering it completely.
- It forms after an advance.
Memory tip: Big red body swallows the small green one before it.
What it usually means
Buyers were in charge, and then sellers overwhelmed them in one candle. A big red body and a location at resistance make it stronger.
What traders wait for
Traders often wait for the next candle to stay below the pattern, with a stop above its high.
Common mistakes
- Selling every engulfing candle. Context, size and location decide whether it matters.
- Skipping risk management. Patterns fail, and the stop is what keeps a failure small.
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Play Candlr freeQuestions people ask
What is a Bearish Engulfing candlestick?
A bearish engulfing pattern is a red candle whose body fully covers the body of the green candle before it. It shows sellers taking control after a rise.
How do you spot a Bearish Engulfing?
Two candles: a smaller green candle, then a larger red one. The red body opens at or above the green close and closes at or below the green open, covering it completely. It forms after an advance.
Is a Bearish Engulfing bullish or bearish?
It is usually read as bearish (a possible move down). Buyers were in charge, and then sellers overwhelmed them in one candle. A big red body and a location at resistance make it stronger.
Is a Bearish Engulfing reliable on its own?
No pattern is a guarantee. Traders often wait for the next candle to stay below the pattern, with a stop above its high. Always decide your risk before you act, and treat patterns as clues, not predictions.
Related patterns
- Hanging Man Looks exactly like a hammer, but it appears after a rise. Sellers managed a big dip, a warning sign.
- Shooting Star A small body with a long upper wick after a rise. Buyers pushed price up but sellers rejected it.
- Bullish Engulfing A green candle whose body fully covers the previous red body. Buyers took over.
- Evening Star A big green candle, a small indecisive one, then a strong red candle. A possible top.
Candlr is educational. Candlestick patterns describe what price did, they do not predict what it will do next, and nothing here is financial advice. Trading involves a high risk of loss.