The Marubozu and Engulfing patterns are both popular candlestick formations used in technical analysis, but they differ in structure, formation, and market meaning.

The Marubozu is a single-candle pattern characterised by a long body with little to no upper or lower shadows. A bullish Marubozu opens at the low and closes at the high, showing strong buying pressure throughout the session. A bearish Marubozu opens at the high and closes at the low, reflecting consistent selling pressure. It mainly signals strong momentum and often indicates trend continuation, though it can also mark the start of a new trend.

In contrast, the Engulfing pattern is a two-candle reversal pattern. It occurs when a smaller candle is followed by a larger candle whose body completely engulfs the previous candle’s body. A bullish engulfing pattern appears after a downtrend and signals a potential upward reversal, while a bearish engulfing pattern appears after an uptrend and signals a possible downward reversal.

The key difference lies in formation and purpose: Marubozu highlights strong one-session momentum, whereas the Engulfing pattern emphasises a shift in control between buyers and sellers over two sessions. Thus, Marubozu focuses on strength, while Engulfing focuses on reversal potential.