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#A9A8AD Color

#A9A8AD is rgb(169, 168, 173) in RGB, hsl(252, 3%, 67%) in HSL, and about cmyk(2%, 3%, 0%, 32%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Silver (Metallic) (#AAA9AD), indistinguishable to the eye at ΔE 0.64. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#A9A8AD
HEX#A9A8AD
RGBrgb(169, 168, 173)
HSLhsl(252, 3%, 67%)
HSVhsv(252, 3%, 68%)
CMYKcmyk(2%, 3%, 0%, 32%)
OKLCHoklch(73.4% 0.007 295.4)
LABlab(69.06% 1.08 -2.45)
LCHlch(69.06% 2.68 293.80)

What #A9A8AD 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 #A9A8AD, 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 gray in the library.

#A9A8AD Channel Values

How #A9A8AD 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 169 · G 168 · B 1738-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 252° · S 3% · L 67%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 252° · S 3% · V 68%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 2% · M 3% · Y 0% · K 32%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance2.36:1 vs white · 8.89:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #A9A8AD 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 text2.36:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text8.89:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #A9A8AD in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #A9A8AD

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #A9A8AD; 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 #A9A8AD

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 #A9A8AD.

How #A9A8AD 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#A9A8AD
Protanopia#A8A8AD
Protanomaly#A9A8AD
Deuteranopia#A8A8AD
Deuteranomaly#A9A8AD
Tritanopia#A8A9A9
Tritanomaly#A9A8AA
Achromatopsia#A9A9A9

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #A9A8AD in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-a9a8ad: #A9A8AD;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #A9A8AD;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-a9a8ad': '#A9A8AD' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.663, green: 0.659, blue: 0.678)
Android XML<color name="color_a9a8ad">#A9A8AD</color>
SVG fillfill="#A9A8AD"

More Gray Colors

#A9A8AD sits in the gray family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

#A9A8AD Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #A9A8AD?

#A9A8AD is a light gray — rgb(169, 168, 173) in RGB and hsl(252, 3%, 67%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Silver (Metallic) (#AAA9AD), which is indistinguishable to the eye at a CIE76 distance of 0.64.

What is the RGB value of #A9A8AD?

#A9A8AD is rgb(169, 168, 173) — red 169, green 168, and blue 173 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #A9A8AD?

#A9A8AD converts to approximately cmyk(2%, 3%, 0%, 32%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #A9A8AD be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #A9A8AD scores 2.36:1 against white and 8.89:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #A9A8AD as a CSS color keyword?

No. #A9A8AD 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 darkgray (#A9A9A9) at a CIE76 distance of 2.69, which is very hard to tell apart.

Open #A9A8AD in a Tool

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