Explain the `:nth-child()` and `:nth-of-type()` pseudo-classes
Jul 15, 2025 am 01:23 AM
:nth-child()
and :nth-of-type()
are incredibly useful. They look similar and do somewhat similar jobs, but there's a key difference between them that can trip people up.

What’s the main difference?
<p>:nth-child()
looks at all the siblings inside a parent and counts them regardless of type. If the element at position 2 is a <p></p>
, then p:nth-child(2)
would match it — but only if it's a <p></p>
. Wait, no — scratch that. It actually matches the element if it's the nth child, regardless of what kind of element it is. So p:nth-child(2)
will only match a <p></p>
if the second child of its parent happens to be a <p></p>
. Otherwise, it won’t match anything.
<p>On the other hand, :nth-of-type()
filters by element type first. It only counts the elements that share the same tag name as the selector. So p:nth-of-type(2)
means “select the second <p></p>
among its sibling <p></p>
tags,” ignoring any other types of elements.

How :nth-child()
works
<p>Imagine this HTML structure:

<div> <h2>Title</h2> <p>First paragraph</p> <p>Second paragraph</p> <span>Some span</span> <p>Third paragraph</p> </div><p>Now say we use this CSS:
p:nth-child(3) { color: red; }<p>What does this do? It checks the third child of the
<div>
. The third child is a <p>
, so it gets styled. But if we tried p:nth-child(2)
, nothing would happen because the second child is also a <p>
, but the selector still works — wait, why?<p>Actually, p:nth-child(2)
says "select the <p>
that is the second child." Since the second child is a <p>
, it works. But if the second child were an <h2>
, then p:nth-child(2)
wouldn't match anything.<p>So remember:- <li>
:nth-child()
doesn’t care about element type when counting.<li>It only matches if the element at that position matches your selector.How :nth-of-type()
works
<p>Now let’s take the same HTML and apply this rule:p:nth-of-type(2) { color: blue; }<p>This one says: “Find all
<p>
elements that are the second <p>
among their sibling <p>
s.” In our example, the second <p>
is selected — even though it's the third child overall (because of the <h2>
before it). This selector skips over non-<p>
elements and just counts the <p>
s.<p>This makes :nth-of-type()
more predictable when working with mixed content.<p>Use cases for :nth-of-type()
include:- <li>Styling alternate rows in a table where each row is a
<tr>
<li>Selecting every third image in a gallery without worrying about surrounding text or linksWhen to use which one?
<p>Here’s a quick guide:<p>Use:nth-child()
when:- <li>You want to target based on position, not element type<li>You’re sure the children are consistent (like in a pure list)
:nth-of-type()
when:- <li>You're dealing with mixed elements<li>You want to specifically target the Nth instance of a certain tag
li:nth-child(2)
on a list where the second child is not an <li>
will result in no match — even if there is a second <li>
later in the list.A few syntax tips
<p>Both pseudo-classes accept the same kinds of values:- <li>Keywords like
odd
and even
<li>Formulas like 2n 1
or 3n
tr:nth-of-type(even) { background: #f2f2f2; }<p>This gives alternating row colors in a table.<p>Or:
li:nth-child(3n) { font-weight: bold; }<p>Highlights every third list item. <p>Just keep in mind how each selector interprets the count.
<p>So, in short,
:nth-child()
counts all siblings while :nth-of-type()
filters by type first. Once you get used to how they interpret the document tree, choosing the right one becomes second nature.The above is the detailed content of Explain the `:nth-child()` and `:nth-of-type()` pseudo-classes. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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