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#9CB5BF Color

#9CB5BF is rgb(156, 181, 191) in RGB, hsl(197, 21%, 68%) in HSL, and about cmyk(18%, 5%, 0%, 25%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Pewter Blue (#8BA8B7), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 5.89. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#9CB5BF
HEX#9CB5BF
RGBrgb(156, 181, 191)
HSLhsl(197, 21%, 68%)
HSVhsv(197, 18%, 75%)
CMYKcmyk(18%, 5%, 0%, 25%)
OKLCHoklch(75.7% 0.031 223.9)
LABlab(72.01% -7.26 -8.13)
LCHlch(72.01% 10.90 228.24)

What #9CB5BF 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 #9CB5BF, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

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

#9CB5BF Channel Values

How #9CB5BF breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

ModelChannelsNotes
RGBR 156 · G 181 · B 1918-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 197° · S 21% · L 68%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 197° · S 18% · V 75%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 18% · M 5% · Y 0% · K 25%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance2.15:1 vs white · 9.78:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #9CB5BF 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.

Fails AAWhite text2.15:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text9.78:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #9CB5BF in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #9CB5BF

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #9CB5BF; 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 #9CB5BF

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 #9CB5BF.

How #9CB5BF 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#9CB5BF
Protanopia#B1B1BF
Protanomaly#A9B3BF
Deuteranopia#ADADC0
Deuteranomaly#A7B0BF
Tritanopia#9AB6B6
Tritanomaly#9BB6BA
Achromatopsia#B1B1B1

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #9CB5BF in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-9cb5bf: #9CB5BF;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #9CB5BF;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-9cb5bf': '#9CB5BF' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.612, green: 0.710, blue: 0.749)
Android XML<color name="color_9cb5bf">#9CB5BF</color>
SVG fillfill="#9CB5BF"

More Teal Colors

#9CB5BF sits in the teal family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

#9CB5BF Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #9CB5BF?

#9CB5BF is a light teal — rgb(156, 181, 191) in RGB and hsl(197, 21%, 68%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Pewter Blue (#8BA8B7), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 5.89.

What is the RGB value of #9CB5BF?

#9CB5BF is rgb(156, 181, 191) — red 156, green 181, and blue 191 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #9CB5BF?

#9CB5BF converts to approximately cmyk(18%, 5%, 0%, 25%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #9CB5BF be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #9CB5BF scores 2.15:1 against white and 9.78:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #9CB5BF as a CSS color keyword?

No. #9CB5BF 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 lightsteelblue (#B0C4DE) at a CIE76 distance of 10.55, which is visibly different.

Open #9CB5BF in a Tool

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