
:nth-child()
is one of the most useful pseudo-classes in CSS. It lets you select every nth element among a group of siblings — for example, every other row in a table or altering colors in a list.
<p> Here's how it works and when to use it.
Understanding the Basic Syntax
<p> The basic structure looks like this:element:nth-child(n) { /* styles here */ }<p> This will select the nth child regardless of what type of element it is . So if you write
li:nth-child(2)
, it will match the second child of its parent only if that child is an <li>
. If it's a <div>
or something else, it won't match.<p> Common values ??for n
include:- <li>
1
, 2
, 3
— selects the first, second, third item, etc.<li> odd
— selects every odd-numbered child (1st, 3rd, 5th…)<li> even
— selects every even-numbered child (2nd, 4th, 6th…)tr:nth-child(even) { background-color: #f2f2f2; }<p> This gives every even table row a light gray background.
Using Formulas Like n 3
or 2n 1
<p> :nth-child()
also accepts formulas in the form of an b
.<p> Here's how that breaks down:- <li>
a
is the interval (like every 2nd, 3rd, etc.)<li> b
is the offset- <li>
2n 1
→ same as odd
<li> 2n
→ same as even
<li> 3n
→ every third child<li> n 4
→ starts from the 4th child onwardli:nth-child(3n) { color: red; }<p> That would make the 3rd, 6th, 9th, etc., items red.<p> Or if you want to start styling from the 5th item onward:
li:nth-child(n 5) { font-weight: bold; }
Difference Between :nth-child()
and :nth-of-type()
<p> It's easy to confuse these two, but the key difference is:- <li>
:nth-child()
counts all children , no matter the tag type.<li> :nth-of-type()
only counts elements of the same type .<div> <p>Paragraph 1</p> <span>Span</span> <p>Paragraph 2</p> </div><p> Then:
p:nth-child(3) { color: red; }<p> …will work because the third child is a
<p>
. But:p:nth-child(2) { color: blue; }<p> …won't apply anything because the second child is a
<span>
, not a <p>
.<p> If instead you used:p:nth-of-type(2) { color: blue; }<p> …it would target "Paragraph 2" because it's the second
<p>
in the list, regardless of other tags mixed in.
Practical Use Cases
<p> Here are a few real-world situations where:nth-child()
shines:
-
<li> Zebra-stripe tables: Alternate row backgrounds for better readingability.
<li> Gallery layouts: Apply different styles or margins to every other image.
<li> Navigation menus: Style the last few items differently without extra classes.
<li> Form layout: Space out or align every third input field.
<p> Basically that's it. As long as you understand the formula and matching logic,
:nth-child()
will not be difficult to master. The key is to use it flexibly in the actual structure, rather than hard-patch formulas.The above is the detailed content of How to use the :nth-child() pseudo-class?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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