The HTML <em> tag
The HTML <em> element marks text with stress emphasis — the kind that changes a sentence's meaning when spoken. It renders italic by default, but choose it for meaning, not looks: use <i> for italics that carry no emphasis.
Overview
The <em> element marks stress emphasis — the word you would lean on when reading a sentence aloud. "I love this" and "I love this" carry different meanings, and <em> is how you capture that shift in HTML. Screen readers may change their intonation to reflect it.
It is presentational by default — browsers render it in italics — but its purpose is semantic, not stylistic. That is the line separating it from <i>, which is for italic text that is not emphasized: foreign phrases, technical terms on first use, a ship's name, a character's inner thought. If the italics change how the sentence is read, it is <em>; if not, it is <i>.
For text that is important rather than emphasized — a warning, a key term you must not miss — reach for <strong> instead. And if you only want italic styling with no meaning, the CSS font-style: italic declaration is the cleaner tool. Nesting <em> inside another <em> increases the emphasis level.
Syntax
<p>You <em>must</em> save before closing.</p>Example
<p>This is <em>really</em> important to understand.</p>Best practices
- Use
<em>only when the emphasis changes the meaning of the sentence — not for general italics. - For italic text that carries no stress (foreign words, terms, titles of thought), use <i> instead.
- For importance or urgency rather than emphasis, use <strong>.
- For purely decorative italics, set
font-style: italicin CSS rather than using<em>.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between em and i?
<em> marks stress emphasis that changes how a sentence is read; <i> is for italic text with no emphasis, such as a foreign phrase or technical term.What is the difference between em and strong?
<em> is emphasis (the word you stress); <strong> is importance, seriousness or urgency. They can be combined when text is both emphasized and important.Does em do anything for screen readers?
<em> is preferable to plain italics when the stress matters.How do I make italic text without emphasis?
font-style: italic for purely decorative italics.