What is Wick (shadow)?
Soya (pilik)
In short
The thin line above and below a candle's body, marking the period's high and low.
Also known as: shadow, pilik
A wick (or shadow) is the thin line sticking out above and below a candle's body. The upper wick reaches the period's high and the lower wick reaches the period's low. While the body shows the range between open and close, the wicks show how far price travelled during the period before being pushed back.
How it is measured
- Green candle: upper wick = High − Close, lower wick = Open − Low.
- Red candle: upper wick = High − Open, lower wick = Close − Low.
Both come straight from the OHLC data.
Why it matters
A long wick is a sign of "rejected price". A long lower wick means sellers pushed price down but buyers took it back up. A long upper wick means sellers were active at the higher prices. Patterns like the hammer and the shooting star are built entirely on wick length.
Limitations
A single wick is not a signal on its own. Judge it by where it appears (near an important level?), on which timeframe, and on what volume. In thinly traded stocks, one large random order can draw a long wick.
Green candle: close above open. Red: below. Wicks show how far price went and came back.
Example
Say a daily candle opens at $100, closes at $102, with a high of $106 and a low of $99 (illustrative numbers).
- Body: $102 − $100 = $2 (a green candle).
- Upper wick: $106 − $102 = $4.
- Lower wick: $100 − $99 = $1.
- Full range: $106 − $99 = $7.
The upper wick is 4 ÷ 7 ≈ 57% of the range. Price reached $106 during the day, but sellers pushed it back to $102 — the higher prices were not accepted. If this candle forms right at a strong resistance level, it deserves attention.
Mistakes and tips
Compare the wick with the body: a wick two to three times longer than the body is usually considered significant.
Depending on chart settings, pre-market and after-hours prices may or may not be included in the wick — check which data you are looking at.
A common technique is to place a stop just beyond the tip of a key candle's wick, since that is where price already went and got rejected.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a long lower wick on a candle mean?
- Price fell a long way during the period but buyers pushed it back up. After a decline it can hint at a reversal, but it needs confirmation.
- Is a wick the same as a shadow?
- Yes. Wick and shadow are two names for the same thing; both are widely used.
Learn it in the Academy
This term is covered with hands-on examples and a quiz in these lessons of the interactive course.
- Reading candlesticksOne candle shows a whole battle in four prices: body, wicks, timeframes, single-candle patterns and their context.Open lesson · 12 min
- Double tops and bottomsA level tested twice or three times: confirmation via the neckline, measured-move targets, Adam and Eve, volume and failed patterns.Open lesson · 11 min
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