Candlestick patterns › Engulfing

Engulfing Candle Pattern

An engulfing pattern is two candles where the second candle’s body completely covers the first candle’s body, in the opposite direction. It comes in a bullish and a bearish version.

Bullish engulfing pattern after a downtrend
Bullish engulfing: a small filled candle followed by a larger hollow candle.

Bullish engulfing

Only the bodies need to be engulfed; the wicks don’t. The bigger candle 2 is compared with candle 1, the stronger the pattern is usually considered.

Bearish engulfing

Bearish engulfing pattern after an uptrend
Bearish engulfing: a small hollow candle followed by a larger filled candle.

Engulfing patterns in forex and crypto

In markets that trade around the clock, each candle usually opens right at the previous close, so the second candle often opens at the same price rather than beyond it. Most traders still count it as engulfing as long as the second body covers the first.

Finding it on TradingView

TradingView has built-in candlestick pattern indicators that mark patterns on the chart for you. Click Indicators at the top of the chart and search for the pattern name. You can also practise spotting patterns on past price action with Bar Replay, which hides the candles to the right so you can’t see what came next.

No pattern is a guarantee. Patterns describe how buyers and sellers behaved; they don’t predict the next move on their own, and they fail often. Traders usually wait for confirmation, look at where the pattern forms (after a trend, at support or resistance), and decide their exit before they enter. Size the trade with the position size calculator.

Diagrams are illustrations drawn from example prices. Hollow candles closed higher than they opened; filled candles closed lower. ChartWatch doesn’t give trading advice.

FAQ

What is a bullish engulfing candle?
A two-candle pattern after a decline: a bearish candle followed by a larger bullish candle whose body completely covers the first candle's body.
What is a bearish engulfing pattern?
A two-candle pattern after a rise: a bullish candle followed by a larger bearish candle whose body completely covers the first candle's body.
Do the wicks need to be engulfed?
No. The usual definition only requires the second candle's body to engulf the first candle's body.

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