#A9B8BC
Closest named color: French Gray (#ADB5BD). oklch(77.2% 0.018 215.5), rgb(169, 184, 188).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (10.26:1).
About this color
#A9B8BC is a medium-light close to neutral grey. In OKLCH its lightness is 77%, its chroma 0.018. It has too little chroma to lean warm or cool. The nearest named color is French Gray (#ADB5BD), ΔE 0.010 away. Black text reads best on it, at 10.26:1.
| Hue family | Neutrals |
| Lightness | medium-light (77%) |
| Chroma | close to neutral grey (0.018) |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Nearest name | French Gray (#ADB5BD) |
| Black text | 10.26:1 |
| White text | 2.04:1 |
Values
| HEX | #A9B8BC |
| RGB | rgb(169, 184, 188) |
| HSL | hsl(193, 12%, 70%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(77.2% 0.018 215.5) |
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 #A9B8BC | 2.04:1 | Fails | Lc -44.4 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| Black text on #A9B8BC | 10.26:1 | AAA | Lc 64.1 | Content text, not long reading |
| #A9B8BC text on white | 2.04:1 | Fails | Lc 39.8 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| #A9B8BC text on black | 10.26:1 | AAA | Lc -62.5 | Content text, not long reading |
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 300.
-
Step 50
50
#F4F6F6
oklch(97.2% 0.002 197.1)
-
Step 100
100
#E6EBEC
oklch(93.7% 0.006 211)
-
Step 200
200
#D2DBDD
oklch(88.5% 0.01 212.5)
-
Step 300
300 (this color)
#A9B8BC
oklch(77.2% 0.018 215.5)
-
Step 400
400
#8EA5AC
oklch(70.7% 0.028 218.1)
-
Step 500
500
#718F97
oklch(63% 0.036 215.8)
-
Step 600
600
#597982
oklch(55.5% 0.039 217)
-
Step 700
700
#49666E
oklch(49.1% 0.036 216.7)
-
Step 800
800
#3C5359
oklch(42.6% 0.03 215.6)
-
Step 900
900
#334549
oklch(37.7% 0.024 212.8)
-
Step 950
950
#1E282B
oklch(26.9% 0.015 218)
#A9B8BC 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) | #B5B7BC | 0.016 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #B2B4BC | 0.015 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #A4BAB9 | 0.010 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #B5B5B5 | 0.018 |
Harmonies
Hue rotations in OKLCH that keep this color's lightness and chroma.
Complementary
The opposite hue (180°).
- #A9B8BC
#A9B8BC
oklch(77.2% 0.018 215.5)
- #C0B1AD
#C0B1AD
oklch(77.2% 0.018 35.3)
Analogous
Neighbouring hues, 30° either side.
Split complementary
The two hues beside the complement (150° and 210°).
Triadic
Three hues spaced 120° apart.
Palettes with this color
Curated palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.04 (OKLab) of #A9B8BC, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight closest entries in our named color list, with their ΔE distance.
- French Gray #ADB5BD ΔE 0.010
- Light Grey Blue #9DBCD4 ΔE 0.034
- Silver #C0C0C0 ΔE 0.040
- Dark Gray #A9A9A9 ΔE 0.041
- Light Cornflower Blue #98C1D9 ΔE 0.043
- Cloudy Blue #ACC2D9 ΔE 0.043
- Pinkish Grey #C8ACA9 ΔE 0.051
- Light Steel Blue #B0C4DE ΔE 0.052
Use #A9B8BC 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.