Skip to main content

CSS Pseudo-classes

What are Pseudo-classes?​

A pseudo-class is used to define a special state of an element.

For example, it can be used to:

  • Style an element when a user mouses over it
  • Style visited and unvisited links differently
  • Style an element when it gets focus

Syntax​

selector:pseudo-class {  
    property:  value;  
}

All CSS Pseudo Classes​

SelectorExampleExample description
:activea:activeSelects the active link
:checkedinput:checkedSelects every checked <input> element
:disabledinput:disabledSelects every disabled <input> element
:emptyp:emptySelects every <p> element that has no children
:enabledinput:enabledSelects every enabled <input> element
:first-childp:first-childSelects every <p> elements that is the first child of its parent
:first-of-typep:first-of-typeSelects every <p> element that is the first <p> element of its parent
:focusinput:focusSelects the <input> element that has focus
:hovera:hoverSelects links on mouse over
:in-rangeinput:in-rangeSelects <input> elements with a value within a specified range
:invalidinput:invalidSelects all <input> elements with an invalid value
:lang(language)p:lang(it)Selects every <p> element with a lang attribute value starting with "it"
:last-childp:last-childSelects every <p> elements that is the last child of its parent
:last-of-typep:last-of-typeSelects every <p> element that is the last <p> element of its parent
:linka:linkSelects all unvisited links
:not(selector):not(p)Selects every element that is not a <p> element
:nth-child(n)p:nth-child(2)Selects every <p> element that is the second child of its parent
:nth-last-child(n)p:nth-last-child(2)Selects every <p> element that is the second child of its parent, counting from the last child
:nth-last-of-type(n)p:nth-last-of-type(2)Selects every <p> element that is the second <p> element of its parent, counting from the last child
:nth-of-type(n)p:nth-of-type(2)Selects every <p> element that is the second <p> element of its parent
:only-of-typep:only-of-typeSelects every <p> element that is the only <p> element of its parent
:only-childp:only-childSelects every <p> element that is the only child of its parent
:optionalinput:optionalSelects <input> elements with no "required" attribute
:out-of-rangeinput:out-of-rangeSelects <input> elements with a value outside a specified range
:read-onlyinput:read-onlySelects <input> elements with a "readonly" attribute specified
:read-writeinput:read-writeSelects <input> elements with no "readonly" attribute
:requiredinput:requiredSelects <input> elements with a "required" attribute specified
:rootrootSelects the document's root element
:target#news:targetSelects the current active #news element (clicked on a URL containing that anchor name)
:validinput:validSelects all <input> elements with a valid value
:visiteda:visitedSelects all visited links

Common examples​

Anchor Pseudo-classes​

Links can be displayed in different ways:

/* unvisited link */  
a:link {  
    color:  #FF0000;  
}  
  
/* visited link */  
a:visited {  
    color:  #00FF00;  
}  
  
/* mouse over link */  
a:hover {  
    color:  #FF00FF;  
}  
  
/* selected link */  
a:active {  
    color:  #0000FF;  
}
note

a:hover MUST come after a:link and a:visited in the CSS definition in order to be effective! a:active MUST come after a:hover in the CSS definition in order to be effective! Pseudo-class names are not case-sensitive.

Pseudo-classes and HTML Classes​

Pseudo-classes can be combined with HTML classes:

When you hover over the link in the example, it will change color:

a.highlight:hover {  
    color:  #ff0000;  
}

Hover on <div>​

An example of using the :hover pseudo-class on a <div> element:

div:hover {  
    background-color:  blue;  
}

Simple Tooltip Hover​

Hover over a <div> element to show a <p> element (like a tooltip):

p {  
    display:  none;  
    background-color:  yellow;  
    padding:  20px;  
}  
  
div:hover p {  
    display:  block;  
}

CSS :first-child Pseudo-class​

The :first-child pseudo-class matches a specified element that is the first child of another element.

Match the first <p> element​

For example, the selector matches any <p> element that is the first child of any element:

p:first-child {  
    color:  blue;  
}

Match the first <i> element in all <p> elements​

The selector matches the first <i> element in all <p> elements

p i:first-child {  
    color:  blue;  
}

Match all <i> elements in all first child <p> elements​

The selector matches all <i> elements in <p> elements that are the first child of another element:

p:first-child i {  
    color:  blue;  
}

CSS :lang Pseudo-class​

The :lang pseudo-class allows you to define special rules for different languages.

In the example below, :lang defines the quotation marks for <q> elements with lang="no":

<html>  
    <head>  
        <style>  
        q:lang(no)  {  
            quotes:  "~" "~";  
        }  
        </style>  
    </head>  
    <body>    
        <p>Some text <q lang="no">A quote in a paragraph</q> Some text.</p> 
    </body>  
</html>

Table of Contents