CSS color names · Grays

Black color: hex #000000, RGB and HSL

Black is the CSS keyword black, hex #000000, rgb(0, 0, 0), hsl(0, 0%, 0%). It is pure black in the grays family. Below: the colors that go with it, its tints and shades, how it reads as text, and a complete interface palette built from it.

CSS name
black
Hex
#000000
RGB
rgb(0, 0, 0)
HSL
hsl(0, 0%, 0%)
On white
21:1 — passes AA for body text
On black
1:1 — fails AA; use as a fill, not text
.example {
  color: black;          /* keyword */
  color: #000000;          /* hex */
  color: rgb(0, 0, 0); /* rgb */
  color: hsl(0, 0%, 0%); /* hsl */
}

What colors go with black

Black has no hue, so the wheel has nothing to rotate — every match below is the same neutral. That is the point of a neutral: it pairs with any saturated color, which is why grays and near-whites are the background, surface, text and border roles of an interface rather than its brand color. Pick one hue for actions and let black carry everything else.

Complementary

The opposite hue, 180° away — the strongest contrast, best kept to one accent per screen.

Split-complementary

The two neighbors of the complement, at 150° and 210° — most of the contrast with less tension, and two accents instead of one.

Triadic

Two hues at 120° and 240° — three evenly spaced signals, the scheme charts and category colors want.

Analogous

The neighbors at −30° and +30° — calm and cohesive, with emphasis coming from weight and size rather than hue.

Tints and shades of black

Tints add lightness toward white; shades remove it toward black. The hue and saturation stay fixed, so every step still reads as black — these are the hover, pressed, disabled and surface variants a single brand color needs.

A UI color palette built from black

The eight semantic roles an interface actually uses, derived from black as the primary with the split-complementary rule: secondary and accent rotate around the wheel, and the five neutrals take the hue at lightness steps tuned for light and dark mode. This is the same derivation the palette generator runs — open it there to change the rule, drag the anchors, or export the set as CSS variables.

Light mode
primary
#000000
secondary
#000000
accent
#000000
background
#fcfcfc
surface
#f5f5f5
text
#1a1a1a
muted
#737373
border
#e6e6e6
Dark mode
primary
#8c8c8c
secondary
#8c8c8c
accent
#8c8c8c
background
#141414
surface
#1f1f1f
text
#f5f5f5
muted
#a6a6a6
border
#383838

Using black in an interface

Grays are text, borders and disabled states. The slate grays are the useful ones: a whisper of blue keeps them from looking like dirt against a colored primary. A semantic palette tints its grays toward the brand hue for the same reason. Whichever role black takes, define it once as a token rather than repeating the keyword: the semantic palette guide covers the eight roles, and the guides to complementary, triadic and the other color schemes explain how to weight the matches above.

What is the hex code for Black?
Black is #000000. In CSS the keyword black, the hex #000000, rgb(0, 0, 0) and hsl(0, 0%, 0%) all paint the same color.
What colors go with Black?
Black has no hue, so it goes with everything: neutrals like this one are the background, text and border colors that let a single brand hue stand out. Pair it with one saturated color for actions and keep the rest of the interface in the same gray family.
What is the opposite of Black on the color wheel?
Black is achromatic — it sits at the center of the wheel rather than on it, so it has no opposite. Any saturated hue contrasts with it equally.
Can I use Black for text?
Black as text on white has a contrast ratio of 21:1, which passes WCAG AA for body text (4.5:1). On black it is 1:1, which fails for body text. It works as a text color on light surfaces.

Similar named colors

More grays

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