Bearish Harami: definition and how it differs from engulfing
The mirror of the bullish harami — a small body inside a large up bar — read as a stall in buying pressure rather than a confirmed reversal.
Bearish Harami is free on Basis — the button opens a live crypto chart with it already applied. No account, no trial and no limit on how many indicators you add.
Open the chartWhat it measures
A bearish harami is a large up bar followed by a small down bar contained entirely within the first bar’s body.
It measures a sharp drop in participation after a strong advance, the same contraction signature as the bullish version in reverse.
How it is calculated
These are the steps Basis performs, verified against the published definition.
- 1
Bar one is a large up bar.
- 2
Bar two opens below bar one’s close and closes above bar one’s open, contained inside bar one’s body.
How to read it
- The pattern flags stalling momentum, not a confirmed top — it is a reason to tighten risk on longs, not by itself a reason to short.
- A bearish harami cross, with a doji as the second bar, is the stronger version of the same read.
Where it misleads
The same small-body definition that makes the pattern easy to spot makes it common in noisy conditions unrelated to any real reversal — it needs the first bar to be genuinely large to mean much.
Plot Bearish Harami on a live chart
Basis is free. Every indicator, every chart type, order flow, derivatives, screening and backtesting — no paid tier and no account needed to open a chart.
Open a chart with Bear HaramiRelated indicators
Updated 2026-08-27 · Educational reference, not financial advice.