#856E38 Color

#856E38 is rgb(133, 110, 56) in RGB, hsl(42, 41%, 37%) in HSL, and about cmyk(0%, 17%, 58%, 48%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Spanish Bister(spanish Bistre) (#807532), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 7.93. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#856E38

HEX#856E38

RGBrgb(133, 110, 56)

HSLhsl(42, 41%, 37%)

HSVhsv(42, 58%, 52%)

CMYKcmyk(0%, 17%, 58%, 48%)

OKLCHoklch(54.8% 0.078 86.6)

LABlab(47.80% 4.26 33.24)

LCHlch(47.80% 33.51 82.70)

What #856E38 Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #856E38, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Spanish Bister(spanish Bistre)#807532ΔE 7.93 Dark Tan#918151ΔE 8.94 Coyote Brown#81613CΔE 9.82 Gold Fusion#85754EΔE 9.82 Metallic Sunburst#9C7C38ΔE 10.45 Field Drab#6C541EΔE 10.52

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every yellow in the library.

#856E38 Channel Values

How #856E38 breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 133 · G 110 · B 56	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 42° · S 41% · L 37%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 42° · S 58% · V 52%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 0% · M 17% · Y 58% · K 48%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	4.9:1 vs white · 4.28:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #856E38 background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

TextWhite text4.9:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Fails AABlack text4.28:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #856E38 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #856E38

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #856E38; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of #856E38

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #856E38.

How #856E38 Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#856E38

Protanopia#727238

Protanomaly#7A7138

Deuteranopia#767636

Deuteranomaly#7C7337

Tritanopia#896969

Tritanomaly#876B59

Achromatopsia#717171

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #856E38 in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-856e38: #856E38;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #856E38;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-856e38': '#856E38' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.522, green: 0.431, blue: 0.220)

Android XML<color name="color_856e38">#856E38</color>

SVG fillfill="#856E38"

More Yellow Colors

#856E38 sits in the yellow family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

181807 fffff5 1b1404 fffff0 1f1f00 ffffeb 242400 ffffe5 2a2913 ffffe0 2b2003 ffffd6 573a00 856514 b0a94f cc9900 e0e000 edeae0 f2f1e3 f8f3c9 fcfce8 ffcc00 fff000 ffff0f

#856E38 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #856E38?

#856E38 is a dark yellow — rgb(133, 110, 56) in RGB and hsl(42, 41%, 37%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Spanish Bister(spanish Bistre) (#807532), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 7.93.

What is the RGB value of #856E38?

#856E38 is rgb(133, 110, 56) — red 133, green 110, and blue 56 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #856E38?

#856E38 converts to approximately cmyk(0%, 17%, 58%, 48%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #856E38 be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #856E38 scores 4.9:1 against white and 4.28:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #856E38 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #856E38 is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is darkolivegreen (#556B2F) at a CIE76 distance of 21.56, which is visibly different.

Open #856E38 in a Tool

Hex to RGB Hex to HSL Hex to CMYK Hex to OKLCH Hex to Pantone Build a palette Make a gradient

Keep exploring: every yellow in the color library, the guide to shades of yellow, or the full color library.