Color family
Shades of yellow
A pale, vivid yellow leaning green. The reference yellow is #FFFF00, as defined by the CSS named color.
| HEX | #FFFF00 | |
|---|---|---|
| RGB | rgb(255, 255, 0) | |
| HSL | hsl(60, 100%, 50%) | |
| HSV | hsv(60, 100%, 100%) | |
| OKLCH | oklch(96.8% 0.211 109.8) | |
| CMYK* | 0, 0, 100, 0 |
* CMYK is a simple conversion without a print profile; ask your printer for exact values.
What color is yellow?
Yellow is the brightest of the hues: at full saturation it reflects more light than any other colour, which is why it is used for warnings and road signs. On a screen it is made from full red plus full green light, #FFFF00. Darker yellows quickly turn olive or mustard, so many named yellows are pale (lemon, butter, cream) or warm (gold, amber).
Yellow hex codes by source
Color names are not standardized, so the same name can point to different colors. Here is every definition of yellow in our three sources, with how close each one is to the reference.
| Name | HEX | Source | Compared with the reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | #FFFF00 | CSS named color | Reference shown on this page |
| Yellow | #FFFF14 | xkcd Color Survey | Virtually identical · 99% similar |
| Yellow | #FFFF00 | Color Names (meodai) | Same color |
Yellow vs Gold
#FFFF00
#FFD700
Gold in CSS is a warmer yellow with a touch of orange; pure yellow leans very slightly green. In numbers: the two are 60% similar (OKLab distance 0.099). See Gold for its own codes.
Named shades of yellow
75 names in the CSS keywords and the xkcd Color Survey belong to the yellow family. They are sorted from light to dark; click a swatch to copy its code, or open the ones with their own page.
Light yellow shades 65
Medium yellow shades 10
Tints and shades of yellow
The same hue from light to dark, generated in OKLab so the steps look even. Click a step to copy its HEX code.
Colors that go with yellow
Classic color-wheel combinations built on #FFFF00, computed in OKLCH so the partners keep the same lightness and intensity. Each swatch shows the nearest common name.
Complementary
Analogous
Triadic
Split complementary
Yellow with white and black text
WCAG asks for a contrast of at least 4.5:1 for body text (AA) and 3:1 for large text. On a yellow background, black text is the better choice.
Use yellow in CSS
.yellow {
color: #FFFF00;
/* or */ color: rgb(255 255 0);
/* or */ color: hsl(60 100% 50%);
/* or */ color: oklch(96.8% 0.211 109.8);
/* CSS keyword */ color: yellow;
}