What is a doji candle?
A doji candlestick forms when a candle's open and close are at the same price or very close to it. The body is a thin line or barely visible. Wicks (the thin lines above and below the body that show the high and low) can be short or long.
The usual doji candle meaning is indecision. During the period, buyers and sellers both moved price, but by the close neither side had control. Price ended roughly where it started.
If candles are new to you, read Reading Candlestick Charts before this page.
Ready to try it on a real or demo account?
Partner link · trading carries a high risk of loss
How a doji looks
The colour of a doji does not matter much. With open and close nearly equal, whether it prints slightly up or slightly down says little.
Formation rules
To call a candle a doji, check these points:
- Open ≈ close. The body is very small compared with the candle's full range (high to low). Traders set their own size limit for "small", so choose yours and keep it consistent.
- A range exists. A candle with almost no movement at all, which is common in quiet hours, is not a meaningful doji.
- Compare with nearby candles. A doji stands out when the candles around it have clearly larger bodies.
- Wick shape defines the variant:
| Variant | Shape | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Standard doji | Wicks of similar length on both sides | this page |
| Long-legged doji | Long wicks on both sides | Long-Legged Doji |
| Dragonfly doji | Long lower wick, open and close near the high | Dragonfly Doji |
| Gravestone doji | Long upper wick, open and close near the low | Gravestone Doji |
A candle with a small but clearly visible body and wicks on both sides is a Spinning Top. It is related, but it is not a doji.
What the doji says about buyers and sellers
A doji records a balance at the close, not a reversal. How useful it is depends on what came before it:
- After a strong move, a doji shows that the side in control could not push price further during that period. Momentum paused.
- Inside a sideways range, a doji is normal. Indecision is what a range already shows, so the candle adds little.
- Long wicks show that price was rejected in both directions. A doji pattern with long wicks reflects more conflict than one with short wicks.
Where a doji matters: context
Trend. A doji after an extended run up or down gets more attention than one in the middle of choppy price action.
Level. A doji at a support or resistance zone, a previous swing high or low, or a round-number area where many orders tend to sit carries more weight than one in open space. See Technical analysis for how traders mark levels.
Timeframe. A doji on a daily or weekly chart reflects a longer balance between buyers and sellers. On very short timeframes, doji candles appear constantly and most of them are noise.
Session and news. Thin trading hours produce many small candles that look like doji. Just before major data releases, price often stalls and then moves sharply, so a doji there mostly shows that participants are waiting.
Drawn example
The chart below is a drawing, not real market data.
Price falls into a marked support zone, and a doji forms there. On its own this only shows that selling paused. Some traders treat the next candle closing above the doji's high as confirmation that buyers took over. If the next candle closes below the doji's low, the pause ended and the decline continued.
Why a doji often fails in isolation
- Indecision has no direction. A doji does not say which side will win next.
- Trends pause and continue. Strong trends often print doji candles and then carry on in the same direction.
- Too many of them. On low timeframes and in quiet markets they are everywhere, so most mean nothing.
- Broker data differs. Open and close times depend on the feed and the server's time zone, so a candle that is a doji on one chart may have a small body on another.
- Hindsight bias. Doji candles that came before reversals are easy to remember. The many that came before nothing are forgotten.
How traders look for confirmation
Traders who use doji candles usually combine them with other evidence rather than acting on the candle alone:
- A close beyond the doji's high or low on the next candle
- A recognised multi-candle structure, such as a Doji Star or Harami Cross
- Agreement with the level, the trend structure on a higher timeframe, or volume where it is available
- A predefined invalidation point, often beyond the doji's opposite wick
Confirmation reduces false readings but does not remove them. Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast. Size positions with that in mind, as explained in Risk management. For more candle shapes, see Candlestick Patterns.
Frequent questions
Is a doji bullish or bearish?
Neither on its own. It shows indecision. Any directional reading comes from context and from the candles that follow.
How small must the body be?
There is no fixed standard. The body should be very small compared with the candle's range. Pick a consistent rule and apply it the same way every time.
Does the colour of a doji matter?
Very little. With open and close nearly equal, the colour carries almost no information.
Which timeframe works for doji candles?
Doji candles on higher timeframes tend to reflect a more meaningful balance. On very short timeframes they are frequent and often noise.
What is the difference between a doji and a spinning top?
A doji has almost no body. A spinning top has a small but visible body. Both show indecision.
Where can I find definitions of other chart terms?
See the Trading glossary.