The :nth-child()
CSS pseudo-class matches elements based on their position in a group of siblings.
/* Selects the second <li> element in a list */ li:nth-child(2) { color: lime; } /* Selects every fourth element among any group of siblings */ :nth-child(4n) { color: lime; }
Syntax
The nth-child
pseudo-class is specified with a single argument that describes a pattern for matching element indices in a list of siblings. Element indices are 1-based.
Keyword values
odd
- Represents elements whose numeric position in a series of siblings is odd: 1, 3, 5, etc.
even
- Represents elements whose numeric position in a series of siblings is even: 2, 4, 6, etc.
Functional notation
<An+B>
- Represents elements in a list whose indices match those found in a custom pattern of numbers, defined by
An+B
, where:
A
is an integer step size,
B
is an integer offset,
n
is all positive integers, starting from 0. - It can be read as the An+Bth element of a list.
Formal syntax
:nth-child( <nth> [ of <complex-selector-list> ]? )where
<nth> = <an-plus-b> | even | odd
<complex-selector-list> = <complex-selector>#where
<complex-selector> = <compound-selector> [ <combinator>? <compound-selector> ]*
where
<compound-selector> = [ <type-selector>? <subclass-selector>* [ <pseudo-element-selector> <pseudo-class-selector>* ]* ]!
<combinator> = '>' | '+' | '~' | [ '|' ]where
<type-selector> = <wq-name> | <ns-prefix>? '*'
<subclass-selector> = <id-selector> | <class-selector> | <attribute-selector> | <pseudo-class-selector>
<pseudo-element-selector> = ':' <pseudo-class-selector>
<pseudo-class-selector> = ':' <ident-token> | ':' <function-token> <any-value> ')'where
<wq-name> = <ns-prefix>? <ident-token>
<ns-prefix> = [ <ident-token> | '*' ]? |
<id-selector> = <hash-token>
<class-selector> = '.' <ident-token>
<attribute-selector> = '[' <wq-name> ']' | '[' <wq-name> <attr-matcher> [ <string-token> | <ident-token> ] <attr-modifier>? ']'where
<attr-matcher> = [ '~' | | | '^' | '$' | '*' ]? '='
<attr-modifier> = i | s
Examples
Example selectors
tr:nth-child(odd)
ortr:nth-child(2n+1)
- Represents the odd rows of an HTML table: 1, 3, 5, etc.
tr:nth-child(even)
ortr:nth-child(2n)
- Represents the even rows of an HTML table: 2, 4, 6, etc.
:nth-child(7)
- Represents the seventh element.
:nth-child(5n)
- Represents elements 5 [=5×1], 10 [=5×2], 15 [=5×3], etc. The first one to be returned as a result of the formula is 0 [=5x0], resulting in a no-match, since the elements are indexed from 1, whereas
n
starts from 0. This may seem weird at first, but it makes more sense when theB
part of the formula is>0
, like in the next example. :nth-child(n+7)
- Represents the seventh and all following elements: 7 [=0+7], 8 [=1+7], 9 [=2+7], etc.
:nth-child(3n+4)
- Represents elements 4 [=(3×0)+4], 7 [=(3×1)+4], 10 [=(3×2)+4], 13 [=(3×3)+4], etc.
:nth-child(-n+3)
- Represents the first three elements. [=-0+3, -1+3, -2+3]
p:nth-child(n)
- Represents every
<p>
element in a group of siblings. This selects the same elements as a simplep
selector (although with a higher specificity). p:nth-child(1)
orp:nth-child(0n+1)
- Represents every
<p>
that is the first element in a group of siblings. This is the same as the:first-child
selector (and has the same specificity).
p:nth-child(n+8):nth-child(-n+15)
- Represents the eighth through the fifteenth
<p>
elements of a group of siblings.
Detailed example
HTML
<h3><code>span:nth-child(2n+1)</code>, WITHOUT an <code><em></code> among the child elements.</h3> <p>Children 1, 3, 5, and 7 are selected.</p> <div class="first"> <span>Span 1!</span> <span>Span 2</span> <span>Span 3!</span> <span>Span 4</span> <span>Span 5!</span> <span>Span 6</span> <span>Span 7!</span> </div> <br> <h3><code>span:nth-child(2n+1)</code>, WITH an <code><em></code> among the child elements.</h3> <p>Children 1, 5, and 7 are selected.<br> 3 is used in the counting because it is a child, but it isn't selected because it isn't a <code><span></code>.</p> <div class="second"> <span>Span!</span> <span>Span</span> <em>This is an `em`.</em> <span>Span</span> <span>Span!</span> <span>Span</span> <span>Span!</span> <span>Span</span> </div> <br> <h3><code>span:nth-of-type(2n+1)</code>, WITH an <code><em></code> among the child elements.</h3> <p>Children 1, 4, 6, and 8 are selected.<br> 3 isn't used in the counting or selected because it is an <code><em></code>, not a <code><span></code>, and <code>nth-of-type</code> only selects children of that type. The <code><em></code> is completely skipped over and ignored.</p> <div class="third"> <span>Span!</span> <span>Span</span> <em>This is an `em`.</em> <span>Span!</span> <span>Span</span> <span>Span!</span> <span>Span</span> <span>Span!</span> </div>
CSS
html { font-family: sans-serif; } span, div em { padding: 5px; border: 1px solid green; display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 3px; } .first span:nth-child(2n+1), .second span:nth-child(2n+1), .third span:nth-of-type(2n+1) { background-color: lime; }
Result
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
Selectors Level 4 The definition of ':nth-child' in that specification. |
Working Draft | Adds of <selector> syntax and specifies that matching elements are not required to have a parent. |
Selectors Level 3 The definition of ':nth-child' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
:nth-child() | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 3.5 | IE Full support 9 | Opera
Full support
9.5
| Safari Full support 3.1 | WebView Android Full support ≤37 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android
Full support
10.1
| Safari iOS Full support 3.1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
Matches elements with no parent | Chrome Full support 57 | Edge Full support 79 | Firefox Full support 52 | IE No support No | Opera Full support 44 | Safari No support No | WebView Android Full support 57 | Chrome Android Full support 57 | Firefox Android Full support 52 | Opera Android Full support 43 | Safari iOS No support No | Samsung Internet Android Full support 7.0 |
of <selector> syntax | Chrome
No support
No
| Edge
No support
No
| Firefox
No support
No
| IE No support No | Opera No support No | Safari Full support 9 | WebView Android No support No | Chrome Android No support No | Firefox Android
No support
No
| Opera Android No support No | Safari iOS Full support 9 | Samsung Internet Android No support No |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- No support
- No support
- See implementation notes.
- See implementation notes.