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#ADA8A9 Color

#ADA8A9 is rgb(173, 168, 169) in RGB, hsl(348, 3%, 67%) in HSL, and about cmyk(0%, 3%, 2%, 32%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Dark Gray (#A9A9A9), below the threshold most people can see at ΔE 2. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#ADA8A9
HEX#ADA8A9
RGBrgb(173, 168, 169)
HSLhsl(348, 3%, 67%)
HSVhsv(348, 3%, 68%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 3%, 2%, 32%)
OKLCHoklch(73.6% 0.006 3.4)
LABlab(69.31% 1.99 0.15)
LCHlch(69.31% 2.00 4.39)

What #ADA8A9 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 #ADA8A9, 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.

#ADA8A9 Channel Values

How #ADA8A9 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 173 · G 168 · B 1698-bit channels as sent to the display
HSLH 348° · S 3% · L 67%Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSVH 348° · S 3% · V 68%Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYKC 0% · M 3% · Y 2% · K 32%Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance2.35:1 vs white · 8.95:1 vs blackWCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #ADA8A9 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 text2.35:1AA normal AA large AAA normal
TextBlack text8.95:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #ADA8A9 in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #ADA8A9

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #ADA8A9; 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 #ADA8A9

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 #ADA8A9.

How #ADA8A9 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#ADA8A9
Protanopia#A9A9A9
Protanomaly#ABA9A9
Deuteranopia#AAAAA9
Deuteranomaly#ABA9A9
Tritanopia#ADA8A8
Tritanomaly#ADA8A8
Achromatopsia#A9A9A9

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #ADA8A9 in Code

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

CSS custom property--color-ada8a9: #ADA8A9;
CSS backgroundbackground-color: #ADA8A9;
Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-ada8a9': '#ADA8A9' }
SwiftUIColor(red: 0.678, green: 0.659, blue: 0.663)
Android XML<color name="color_ada8a9">#ADA8A9</color>
SVG fillfill="#ADA8A9"

More Gray Colors

#ADA8A9 sits in the gray family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

#ADA8A9 Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #ADA8A9?

#ADA8A9 is a light gray — rgb(173, 168, 169) in RGB and hsl(348, 3%, 67%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Dark Gray (#A9A9A9), which is below the threshold most people can see at a CIE76 distance of 2.

What is the RGB value of #ADA8A9?

#ADA8A9 is rgb(173, 168, 169) — red 173, green 168, and blue 169 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #ADA8A9?

#ADA8A9 converts to approximately cmyk(0%, 3%, 2%, 32%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #ADA8A9 be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #ADA8A9 scores 2.35:1 against white and 8.95:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #ADA8A9 as a CSS color keyword?

No. #ADA8A9 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, which is below the threshold most people can see.

Open #ADA8A9 in a Tool

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