ColrShift9E9E9E (Grey 500) — RGB, HSL, CMYK and Contrast
A neutral at 62% lightness and 0% saturation, which puts it at 2.68:1 against white and 7.84:1 against black. The tables below give the notation conversions, the tints and shades that keep the hue intact, and the harmonies that pair with it.
Notation conversions
| Notation | Value |
|---|---|
| HEX | 9E9E9E |
| RGB | rgb(158, 158, 158) |
| HSL | hsl(0, 0%, 62%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 38%) |
| Relative luminance | 0.3419 |
| Perceived brightness | 62.0 / 100 |
Contrast against pure white and pure black
Pair this colour with the two extremes to see which is the safer text partner. AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text; AAA raises that to 7:1 and 4.5:1.
| Against | Hex | Ratio | AA text | AA large | AAA text |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #FFFFFF | white | 2.68:1 | fail | fail | fail |
| #000000 | black | 7.84:1 | pass | pass | pass |
Tints and shades
Lightness moves in ten-point steps while hue and saturation stay fixed, which keeps the colour recognisable in a scale. The last column is the ratio against white text, useful for deciding where a scale stops working as a background.
| Step | Hex | HSL | vs white text |
|---|---|---|---|
| shade -30 | #525252 | hsl(0, 0%, 32%) | 7.81:1 |
| shade -20 | #6b6b6b | hsl(0, 0%, 42%) | 5.33:1 |
| shade -10 | #858585 | hsl(0, 0%, 52%) | 3.69:1 |
| tint +10 | #b8b8b8 | hsl(0, 0%, 72%) | 1.98:1 |
| tint +20 | #d1d1d1 | hsl(0, 0%, 82%) | 1.53:1 |
| tint +30 | #ebebeb | hsl(0, 0%, 92%) | 1.19:1 |
Harmonies
| Scheme | Hex |
|---|---|
| Complementary | #9e9e9e |
| Analogous −30 | #9e9e9e |
| Analogous +30 | #9e9e9e |
| Triadic −120 | #9e9e9e |
| Triadic +120 | #9e9e9e |
Measured rather than eyeballed: hue 0.0°, saturation 0.0%, lightness 62.0%, relative luminance 0.3419 — four decimals is the precision the WCAG formula actually needs — and perceived brightness 62.0 out of 100. Entry 62 of 69 in this library, it scores 2.68:1 on white and 7.84:1 on black, a 5.16 spread. The complementary #9e9e9e sits 180° away on the wheel, and the scale brackets it with #525252 below and #ebebeb above.
Nearby colours
Frequently asked questions
What text colour should sit on 9E9E9E?
Black gives 7.84:1 and white gives 2.68:1, so black wins at 7.84:1. That clears the 4.5:1 AA threshold for normal text and the 7:1 AAA threshold as well.
Do the CMYK numbers match a print workflow?
They are the naive conversion from RGB, which assumes no ink limit, no colour profile and no black generation strategy. Real print work needs a profile-aware conversion; the values here are the ones the converter reports and are best used as a starting point for a designer rather than a press-ready separations file.
Convert any other colour, or test a pair against each other, in the ColrShift colour converter and contrast checker. The colour library groups every entry on this site by hue family.