Price moves in one of three directions. Learn to tell which one you're looking at before you try to trade it.
An uptrend is a series of higher highs and higher lows — like a staircase going up. A downtrend is a series of lower highs and lower lows — a staircase going down. Sideways is when the highs and lows are roughly equal — no staircase, just a flat hallway. The critical detail: the staircase doesn't break just because it pauses on a step. An uptrend is still an uptrend as long as price hasn't made a new low BELOW the most recent low. Sideways movement between steps is normal — it's a pause, not an end.
Each peak is higher than the last peak. Each dip is higher than the last dip. That's all an uptrend is — a staircase where each step is higher than the one before.
Look at the peaks and the dips — not the color of individual candles. There are red candles in the middle of this uptrend (bars 3, 7) and that's normal. What matters: each dip bottoms out higher than the previous dip, and each rally pushes past the previous peak. That's the staircase.
Why people mix it up: Beginners confuse 'lots of green candles = uptrend' with the actual definition (higher highs and higher lows). A chart can have mostly green candles and still be sideways.
How to tell them apart: Trend is defined by the PEAKS and DIPS, not the color of individual candles. A sideways market can have three green candles in a row — the highs are just all at the same level.
Why people mix it up: Sideways movement after a trend LOOKS like the trend stopped. It might have — or it might just be resting before continuing.
How to tell them apart: A pause is sideways movement while the most recent swing low (in an uptrend) or swing high (in a downtrend) holds. A reversal is when that level breaks. Until it breaks, it's a pause — even if it takes dozens of candles.