<rp>: The 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.

Try it

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.

html

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

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:

Technical summary

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

Specifications

Specification
HTML Standard # the-rp-element

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	WebView Android	Chrome Android	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	Safari on IOS	Samsung Internet
`rp`	5	79	38	5	15	5	4.4	18	38	14	4.2	1.0