HTML rp Tag - Learn HTML

The <rp> (ruby parenthesis) tag provides fallback parentheses for browsers that don't support the <ruby> element. Ruby annotations are small bits of text shown alongside a base character to indicate its pronunciation or meaning — a convention used heavily in East Asian (Japanese, Chinese) publications.

The <rp> tag is one of the HTML5 elements.

How `<ruby>`, `<rt>`, and `<rp>` work together

A ruby annotation is built from three elements that play distinct roles:

<ruby> — the container that wraps the base text and its annotation.
<rt> (ruby text) — the actual annotation, the pronunciation or note rendered above (or beside) the base character.
<rp> (ruby parenthesis) — the fallback characters, usually ( and ), that wrap the annotation only when ruby isn't supported.

The key idea is the split rendering:

Browsers that support ruby hide the contents of every <rp> element and display the <rt> annotation in its proper position (above the base text). The reader never sees the parentheses.
Browsers that do not support ruby ignore the positioning and render everything inline. The <rp> parentheses then become visible, so 漢字(Kanji) reads sensibly as plain text instead of an ambiguous 漢字Kanji.

You place one <rp> before the <rt> (the opening parenthesis) and one after it (the closing parenthesis) so the annotation is wrapped on both sides in the fallback case.

Syntax

The <rp> element is written with a start tag and an end tag. Per HTML5, the end tag (</rp>) is optional: it may be omitted if the <rp> element is immediately followed by another <rp> or <rt> element, or if there is no more content in the parent <ruby> element. Including it is always safe and is recommended for clarity.

Example of the HTML `<rp>` tag:

HTML <rp> Tag

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <ruby>
    漢 <rp>(</rp><rt>Kan</rt><rp>)</rp>
    字 <rp>(</rp><rt>ji</rt><rp>)</rp>
    </ruby>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Result

In a ruby-supporting browser, the output reads "Kan ji" above "漢字" and the parentheses stay hidden. In a browser without ruby support, the same markup degrades to the inline text 漢(Kan)字(ji) — the <rp> parentheses keep the annotation readable.

Attributes

The<rp> tag supports the Global Attributes and the Event Attributes.

<ruby> — the container for a ruby annotation.
<rt> — the ruby annotation text (pronunciation or note).
<rb> — marks the base text of a ruby annotation.

Practice

What is the HTML <rp> tag used for in HTML encoding?

It's used to denote inserted text.It is used to provide parentheses around a rubric, for browsers that do not support Ruby Annotations.It's used to describe metadata within the HTML document.It is used to show pronunciation for Eastern Asian characters.It's used to link to an external resource.

How <ruby>, <rt>, and <rp> work together