What is the difference between :nth-child(n) and :nth-of-type(n)?
Jun 23, 2025 am 12:29 AM
:nth-child(n)
and :nth-of-type(n)
. At first glance, they seem similar — both are used to select elements based on their position. But the key difference lies in what they consider when counting .
What :nth-child(n)
Actually Looks At
<p> The :nth-child(n)
selector targets an element only if it is the nth child of its parent , regardless of what type of element it is.
<p> Let's say you have this HTML:<div> <p>Paragraph 1</p> <span>Span 1</span> <p>Paragraph 2</p> <span>Span 2</span> </div><p> If you write:
p:nth-child(3) { color: red; }<p> This works because the third child inside the
<div>
is a <p>
tag. But if you tried:p:nth-child(1)<p> It wouldn't match anything — the first child is a
<p>
, but p:nth-child(1)
only matches if the first child is a <p>
— which it is, so maybe that's confusing? Well, it does match in this case.<p> But here's where it gets tricky: if the structure changes slightly, like this:<div> <span>Span 1</span> <p>Paragraph 1</p> <p>Paragraph 2</p> </div><p> Then:
p:nth-child(1)<p> ...won't apply any style, because the first child is a
<span>
, not a <p>
.<p> So remember:- <li>
:nth-child(n)
counts all children , no matter the tag.<li> It only matches the element if it's exactly at position n among all children. How :nth-of-type(n)
Is Different
<p> :nth-of-type(n)
is more focused. It only looks at elements of the same type .<p> Using the same HTML again:<div> <span>Span 1</span> <p>Paragraph 1</p> <p>Paragraph 2</p> </div><p> Now try this:
p:nth-of-type(1)<p> This will match "Paragraph 1" — it's the first
<p>
among all <p>
tags inside the parent. If you do:p:nth-of-type(2)<p> It will match "Paragraph 2". <p> Even if there are other elements mixed in between, like
<span>
or <a></a>
, it doesn't affect the count — it only counts the matching element types .
<p> So think of it like:
-
<li> You're looking for the nth occurrence of that specific tag inside the parent.
<li> Other elements are ignored in the count.
When to Use Which One?
<p> Here's how to decide: Use :nth-child(n)
when:
-
<li> You want to target an element based on its exact position among all children .
<li> The layout is predictable and you know the order of elements won't change much.
Use :nth-of-type(n)
when:
-
<li> You only care about the type of element , not its general position.
<li> There are mixed elements inside the parent, and you just want to pick the second or third
<p>
, <li>
, etc.
-
<li> Zebra-stripping rows in a table:
tr:nth-child(even)
makes sense if every child is a row.
<li> Styling the second image in a gallery: img:nth-of-type(2)
works even if there are headings or other tags before it.
A Few Things to Watch Out For
-
<li>
n
can be replaced with formulas like 2n 1
(odd), 3n
, etc.
<li> Both work with negative values ??too, though that's less common.
<li> Browser support is solid across modern browsers — no worries there.
<p> In short, the main thing to remember is this:
-
<li>
:nth-child(n)
= counts every child , picks the nth one if it matches the element type.
<li> :nth-of-type(n)
= only counts elements of that type , picks the nth one among them.
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