#856F51 Color

#856F51 is rgb(133, 111, 81) in RGB, hsl(35, 24%, 42%) in HSL, and about cmyk(0%, 17%, 39%, 48%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is French Bister(french Bistre) (#856D4D), below the threshold most people can see at ΔE 1.78. White text is the more readable choice on this background.

#856F51

HEX#856F51

RGBrgb(133, 111, 81)

HSLhsl(35, 24%, 42%)

HSVhsv(35, 39%, 52%)

CMYKcmyk(0%, 17%, 39%, 48%)

OKLCHoklch(55.5% 0.051 75)

LABlab(48.40% 5.64 20.14)

LCHlch(48.40% 20.92 74.37)

What #856F51 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 #856F51, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

French Bister(french Bistre)#856D4DΔE 1.78 Shadow#8A795DΔE 4.62 Pastel Brown#836953ΔE 4.82 Raw Umber#826644ΔE 5.28 Gold Fusion#85754EΔE 5.43 Liver Chestnut#987456ΔE 7.27

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

#856F51 Channel Values

How #856F51 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 111 · B 81	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 35° · S 24% · L 42%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 35° · S 39% · V 52%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 0% · M 17% · Y 39% · K 48%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	4.78:1 vs white · 4.39:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #856F51 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 text4.78:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Fails AABlack text4.39:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #856F51 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #856F51

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #856F51; 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 #856F51

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 #856F51.

How #856F51 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#856F51

Protanopia#737351

Protanomaly#7B7151

Deuteranopia#777750

Deuteranomaly#7D7450

Tritanopia#886C6C

Tritanomaly#876D62

Achromatopsia#727272

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #856F51 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-856f51: #856F51;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #856F51;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-856f51': '#856F51' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.522, green: 0.435, blue: 0.318)

Android XML<color name="color_856f51">#856F51</color>

SVG fillfill="#856F51"

More Brown Colors

#856F51 sits in the brown family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

100c08 e17100 1b0d04 e15501 1c1917 e05e00 1f0800 e04000 1f1400 db8f00 241205 db7900 34240e 461901 503607 5c3f19 693507 7a2100 825221 8b6f47 993300 a8732e bd3000 cc3300

#856F51 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #856F51?

#856F51 is a mid-tone brown — rgb(133, 111, 81) in RGB and hsl(35, 24%, 42%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is French Bister(french Bistre) (#856D4D), which is below the threshold most people can see at a CIE76 distance of 1.78.

What is the RGB value of #856F51?

#856F51 is rgb(133, 111, 81) — red 133, green 111, and blue 81 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #856F51?

#856F51 converts to approximately cmyk(0%, 17%, 39%, 48%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #856F51 be black or white?

White text is the more readable choice. #856F51 scores 4.78:1 against white and 4.39:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #856F51 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #856F51 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 dimgray (#696969) at a CIE76 distance of 21.29, which is visibly different.

Open #856F51 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 brown in the color library, the guide to shades of brown, or the full color library.