`<rp>` HTML ruby fallback parenthesis element

The <rp> HTML element is used to provide fall-back parentheses for browsers that do not support display of ruby annotations using the <ruby> element. One <rp> element should enclose each of the opening and closing parentheses that wrap the <rt> element that contains the annotation’s text.

<ruby>
  漢 <rp>(</rp><rt>kan</rt><rp>)</rp> 字 <rp>(</rp><rt>ji</rt><rp>)</rp>
</ruby>

ruby {
  font-size: 2em;
}

Attributes

This element only includes the global attributes.

Usage notes

• Ruby annotations are for showing pronunciation of East Asian characters, like using Japanese furigana or Taiwanese bopomofo characters. The <rp> element is used in the case of lack of <ruby> element support; the <rp> content provides what should be displayed in order to indicate the presence of a ruby annotation, usually parentheses.

Examples

Using ruby annotations

This example uses ruby annotations to display the Romaji equivalents for each character.

<ruby>
  漢 <rp>(</rp><rt>Kan</rt><rp>)</rp> 字 <rp>(</rp><rt>ji</rt><rp>)</rp>
</ruby>

body {
  font-size: 22px;
}

Result

See the article about the <ruby> element for further examples.

Without ruby support

If your browser does not support ruby annotations, the result looks like this instead:

漢 (Kan) 字 (ji)

body {
  font-size: 22px;
}

Technical summary

Content categories	None.
Permitted content	Text
Tag omission	The end tag can be omitted if the element is immediately followed by an [``](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/rt/) or another <rp> element, or if there is no more content in the parent element.
Permitted parents	A [``](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/ruby/) element. <rp> must be positioned immediately before or after an [``](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/rt/) element.
Implicit ARIA role	No corresponding role
Permitted ARIA roles	Any
DOM interface	[`HTMLElement`](/firefox/mdn/api/htmlelement/)

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• <ruby>
• <rt>
• <rb>
• <rtc>
• CSS ruby layout module