CSS Pseudo-classes

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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

Mouse Over Me

Syntax

The syntax of pseudo-classes:

selector:pseudo-class {
property: value;
}

Anchor Pseudo-classes

Links can be displayed in different ways:

Example

/* 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;
}

Try it Yourself »

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:

Example

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

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Hover on <div>

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

Example

div:hover {
background-color: blue;
}

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Simple Tooltip Hover

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

Hover over me to show the <p> element.

Example

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

div:hover p {
display: block;
}

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CSS – The :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

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

Example

p:first-child {
color: blue;
}

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

In the following example, the selector matches the first <i> element in all <p> elements:

Example

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

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

In the following example, the selector matches all <i> elements in <p> elements that are the first child of another element:

Example

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

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CSS – The :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”:

Example

<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>

Try it Yourself »

More Examples

Add different styles to hyperlinks
This example demonstrates how to add other styles to hyperlinks.

Use of :focus
This example demonstrates how to use the :focus pseudo-class.

Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:

Set the background-color to red, when you mouse over a link.

<style>
 {
  background-color: red;
}
</style>

<body>

<h1>This is a header.</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<a href="https://w3schools.com">This is a link.</a>

</body>

Submit Answer »

Start the Exercise

All CSS Pseudo Classes

Selector	Example	Example description
:active	a:active	Selects the active link
:checked	input:checked	Selects every checked <input> element
:disabled	input:disabled	Selects every disabled <input> element
:empty	p:empty	Selects every <p> element that has no children
:enabled	input:enabled	Selects every enabled <input> element
:first-child	p:first-child	Selects every <p> elements that is the first child of its parent
:first-of-type	p:first-of-type	Selects every <p> element that is the first <p> element of its parent
:focus	input:focus	Selects the <input> element that has focus
:hover	a:hover	Selects links on mouse over
:in-range	input:in-range	Selects <input> elements with a value within a specified range
:invalid	input:invalid	Selects 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-child	p:last-child	Selects every <p> elements that is the last child of its parent
:last-of-type	p:last-of-type	Selects every <p> element that is the last <p> element of its parent
:link	a:link	Selects 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-type	p:only-of-type	Selects every <p> element that is the only <p> element of its parent
:only-child	p:only-child	Selects every <p> element that is the only child of its parent
:optional	input:optional	Selects <input> elements with no “required” attribute
:out-of-range	input:out-of-range	Selects <input> elements with a value outside a specified range
:read-only	input:read-only	Selects <input> elements with a “readonly” attribute specified
:read-write	input:read-write	Selects <input> elements with no “readonly” attribute
:required	input:required	Selects <input> elements with a “required” attribute specified
:root	root	Selects the document’s root element
:target	#news:target	Selects the current active #news element (clicked on a URL containing that anchor name)
:valid	input:valid	Selects all <input> elements with a valid value
:visited	a:visited	Selects all visited links

All CSS Pseudo Elements

Selector	Example	Example description
::after	p::after	Insert content after every <p> element
::before	p::before	Insert content before every <p> element
::first-letter	p::first-letter	Selects the first letter of every <p> element
::first-line	p::first-line	Selects the first line of every <p> element
::selection	p::selection	Selects the portion of an element that is selected by a user

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