#838B8E
Closest named color: Light Slate Gray (#778899). oklch(63.1% 0.01 222.1), rgb(131, 139, 142).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (6.04:1).
About this color
#838B8E is a medium-light close to neutral grey. In OKLCH its lightness is 63%, its chroma 0.010. It has too little chroma to lean warm or cool. The nearest named color is Light Slate Gray (#778899), ΔE 0.027 away. Black text reads best on it, at 6.04:1.
| Hue family | Neutrals |
| Lightness | medium-light (63%) |
| Chroma | close to neutral grey (0.010) |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Nearest name | Light Slate Gray (#778899) |
| Black text | 6.04:1 |
| White text | 3.47:1 |
Values
| HEX | #838B8E |
| RGB | rgb(131, 139, 142) |
| HSL | hsl(196, 5%, 54%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(63.1% 0.01 222.1) |
Contrast
WCAG 2 contrast ratios are the conformance target: AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1. APCA Lc values are supplementary guidance from the WCAG 3 drafts.
| Pair | WCAG 2 | Result | APCA | APCA guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White text on #838B8E | 3.47:1 | AA large text | Lc -67.8 | Content text, not long reading |
| Black text on #838B8E | 6.04:1 | AA | Lc 41.8 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| #838B8E text on white | 3.47:1 | AA large text | Lc 62.3 | Content text, not long reading |
| #838B8E text on black | 6.04:1 | AA | Lc -39.4 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
Tints and shades
A 50–950 scale built in OKLCH: the hue is held, lightness follows a Tailwind v4-like curve, and every step is kept inside the sRGB gamut. This color sits at step 500.
-
Step 50
50
#F5F5F6
oklch(97% 0.001 286.4)
-
Step 100
100
#E9EAEA
oklch(93.6% 0.001 197.1)
-
Step 200
200
#D7D9DA
oklch(88.4% 0.003 228.8)
-
Step 300
300
#BDC1C3
oklch(80.8% 0.005 228.8)
-
Step 400
400
#9BA2A4
oklch(70.7% 0.009 216.6)
-
Step 500
500 (this color)
#838B8E
oklch(63.1% 0.01 222.1)
-
Step 600
600
#6C7578
oklch(55.6% 0.012 219.7)
-
Step 700
700
#5B6265
oklch(49.1% 0.01 225.2)
-
Step 800
800
#4A5052
oklch(42.7% 0.008 219.7)
-
Step 900
900
#3E4244
oklch(37.6% 0.006 229)
-
Step 950
950
#242728
oklch(27% 0.005 219.6)
#838B8E with color blindness
Simulated with the Machado et al. (2009) model. ΔE is how far the color moves: below about 0.02 you would not notice a change.
| Vision | Seen as | Shift (ΔE) |
|---|---|---|
| Protanopia (no red cones) | #898A8E | 0.009 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #87898E | 0.008 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #808C8C | 0.006 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #8A8A8A | 0.011 |
Harmonies
Hue rotations in OKLCH that keep this color's lightness and chroma.
This color is close to neutral, so it has no meaningful hue to rotate. Hue harmonies are omitted.
Palettes with this color
Curated palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.04 (OKLab) of #838B8E, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight closest entries in our named color list, with their ΔE distance.
- Light Slate Gray #778899 ΔE 0.027
- Warm Grey #978A84 ΔE 0.031
- Steel #738595 ΔE 0.033
- Gray #808080 ΔE 0.033
- Blue Grey #758DA3 ΔE 0.034
- Medium Grey #7D7F7C ΔE 0.039
- Steel Grey #6F828A ΔE 0.040
- Silver Lake Blue #778DA9 ΔE 0.041
Use #838B8E in your product
Turn it into light and dark UI roles checked for contrast, then export to Tailwind v4, shadcn/ui, CSS or design tokens.