<em>: The EM Element
Last updated: 2026-10-13
<em>The EM Element
Marks text to be emphasized, rendered in italics by default. Unlike <i>, <em> carries stress emphasis.
| Category | Formatting |
|---|---|
| Content Model | Phrasing content |
| Allowed Parents | Any element that accepts phrasing content |
| Content Tag | Yes — requires closing </em> tag |
| Status | Standard |
📝 Syntax
<em>emphasized text</em>▶ Example
Edit the code below and see the live result in the playground:
🌐 Browser Support
| Browser |  Chrome |
 Edge |
 Firefox |
 Safari |
 Opera |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <em> | ✓ v1 | ✓ v12 | ✓ v1 | ✓ v1 | ✓ v1 |
| Supported in all major browsers | |||||
Tip： Use <em> for stress emphasis; use <i> when you only want italic appearance without emphasis.
❓ FAQ
QWhat is the difference between em and i?
A
<em> means emphasis — it changes the stress of a sentence and screen readers will read it with emphasis; <i> is only visual italics for terms, foreign phrases, thoughts, and other non-emphatic contexts. When you want to say the point is right here, use <em>.QDoes nesting em increase the emphasis?
AYes. The HTML spec says nested
<em> elements increase the emphasis level step by step, like raising your voice. In <em>really<em>very</em>important</em>, the emphasis on very is stronger than the outer level.QCan I replace em with CSS italics?
AIf you only want an italic look (book titles, foreign words), CSS is more appropriate, because
<em> carries emphatic semantics and screen readers change their reading. Conversely, real semantic emphasis should never be simulated with CSS italics — the two must not be mixed.🏷️ Related Tags
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