Web/CSS/text-emphasis-position

The text-emphasis-position CSS property sets where emphasis marks are drawn. Like ruby text, if there isn't enough room for emphasis marks, the line height is increased.

/* Initial value */
text-emphasis-position: over right;

/* Keywords value */
text-emphasis-position: over left;
text-emphasis-position: under right;
text-emphasis-position: under left;

text-emphasis-position: left over;
text-emphasis-position: right under;
text-emphasis-position: left under;

/* Global values */
text-emphasis-position: inherit;
text-emphasis-position: initial;
text-emphasis-position: unset;

Syntax

Values

over: Draw marks over the text in horizontal writing mode.
under: Draw marks under the text in horizontal writing mode.
right: Draws marks to the right of the text in vertical writing mode.
left: Draw marks to the left of the text in vertical writing mode.

Description

The preferred position of emphasis marks depends on the language. In Japanese for example, the preferred position is over right. In Chinese, on the other hand, the preferred position is under right. The informative table below summarizes the preferred emphasis mark positions for Chinese, Mongolian and Japanese:

Preferred emphasis mark and ruby position
Language	Preferred position		Illustration
	Horizontal			Vertical
Japanese	over	right	[[File:../../../../../drafts.csswg.org/css-text-decor-3/images/text-emphasis-ja.png\|Emphasis marks appear over each emphasized character in horizontal Japanese text.]]	[[File:../../../../../drafts.csswg.org/css-text-decor-3/images/text-emphasis-v.gif\|Emphasis marks appear on the right of each emphasized character in vertical Japanese text.]]
Korean
Mongolian
Chinese		under	right	[[File:../../../../../drafts.csswg.org/css-text-decor-3/images/text-emphasis-zh.gif\|Emphasis marks appear below each emphasized character in horizontal Simplified Chinese text.]]

Note: The text-emphasis-position cannot be set, and therefore are not reset either, using the text-emphasis shorthand property.

Formal definition

Initial value	`over right`
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

[ over | under ] && [ right | left ]

Examples

Preferring ruby over emphasis marks

Some editors prefer to hide emphasis marks when they conflict with ruby. In HTML, this can be done with the following style rule:

ruby {
  text-emphasis: none;
}

Preferring emphasis marks over ruby

Some other editors prefer to hide ruby when they conflict with emphasis marks. In HTML, this can be done with the following pattern:

em {
  text-emphasis: dot; /* Set text-emphasis for <em> elements */
}

em rt {
  display: none; /* Hide ruby inside <em> elements */
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Text Decoration Module Level 3The definition of 'text-emphasis' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`text-emphasis-position`	Chrome Full support 25 Prefixed' Full support 25 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Edge Full support 79 Prefixed' Full support 79 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Full support 46 Full support 46 No support 45 — 49 Disabled' Disabled' From version 45 until version 49 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.text-emphasis.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 15 Prefixed' Full support 15 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Safari Full support 6.1 Full support 6.1 Full support 6.1 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	WebView Android Full support 4.4 Prefixed' Full support 4.4 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Chrome Android Full support 25 Prefixed' Full support 25 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Android Full support 46 Full support 46 No support 45 — 49 Disabled' Disabled' From version 45 until version 49 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.text-emphasis.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android Full support 14 Prefixed' Full support 14 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Safari iOS Full support 7 Full support 7 Full support 7 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.5 Prefixed' Full support 1.5 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-
`left` and `right`	Chrome Full support 62	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 46	IE No support No	Opera Full support 49	Safari Full support 8	WebView Android Full support 62	Chrome Android Full support 62	Firefox Android Full support 46	Opera Android Full support 46	Safari iOS Full support 8	Samsung Internet Android Full support 8.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.': Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.