Teal
A blue-green named for the bird's eye-patch marking.
At a glance
- Hue family
- cyan
- Warmth
- cool
- Tone depth
- deep
- Saturation
- Vivid
Similar to
Quick intelligence summary
- Feels like
- cool, deep, vivid
- Works well with
- See the pairings section below for calculated harmony options.
- Common uses
- See uses & contexts below for interiors, fashion and practical guidance.
- Accessibility snapshot
- Pairs better with white text (4.8:1) than black (4.4:1).
See this colour in the real world
Colours in photographs vary with lighting, material, camera processing and screen calibration — the named colours below are visual approximations, not exact measurements.
The radiating fibrous structure visible here is the iris's real anatomy — the yellow-green flecking near the pupil and the blue-teal further out are two genuinely different regions, not a single uniform colour.
Extreme close-up eye photography like this is very often colour-enhanced or saturation-boosted in editing — treat this as an illustrative, vivid example of blue-green iris structure, not an unedited, exact colour reference. A camera can never capture eye colour perfectly neutrally in any case, since white balance and exposure both shift what's recorded."Eye I" by Thomas Tolkien, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsLicence details
- Source:
- Wikimedia Commons
- Creator:
- Thomas Tolkien
- Licence:
- CC BY 2.0 — free to share and adapt commercially, provided the work is attributed.
- Reviewed:
- 2026-07-25
Colour stories
Why eye colour appears different beside clothing
The same simultaneous-contrast effect that makes a grey square look different against different-coloured backgrounds also applies to eye colour: a nearby clothing colour can make eyes look more or less vivid, or shift their apparent warmth, without the eyes themselves changing at all.
In practice: If eye colour looks unusually vivid or muted in a particular outfit, the clothing colour beside the face is a common, ordinary explanation — not a change in the eyes themselves.
Pairings
Subtle, bold, analogous, complementary and neutral options — established design convention, not a guarantee of visual success in every context.
Complementary
Opposite hues (180° apart) for maximum hue contrast.
Analogous
Neighbouring hues on the colour wheel for a low-contrast, harmonious feel.
Analogous
Neighbouring hues on the colour wheel for a low-contrast, harmonious feel.
Triadic
Three hues evenly spaced around the colour wheel for balanced contrast.
Triadic
Three hues evenly spaced around the colour wheel for balanced contrast.
Split-complementary
The two hues bracketing the complement, for contrast with less tension.
Split-complementary
The two hues bracketing the complement, for contrast with less tension.
Tetradic
Four hues at 90° steps around the colour wheel for a rich, varied palette.
Tetradic
Four hues at 90° steps around the colour wheel for a rich, varied palette.
Tetradic
Four hues at 90° steps around the colour wheel for a rich, varied palette.
Monochromatic
Same hue at different lightness levels, for a cohesive tonal palette.
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Monochromatic
Same hue at different lightness levels, for a cohesive tonal palette.
Monochromatic
Same hue at different lightness levels, for a cohesive tonal palette.
Monochromatic
Same hue at different lightness levels, for a cohesive tonal palette.
For an accessible, low-contrast-risk pairing, monochromatic (same-hue) combinations are usually the safest starting point — see the harmonies above.
Uses & contexts
Continue exploring
Related questionteal vs turquoiseTeal is darker and more muted; turquoise is brighter and more saturated.ComparisonRelated questionCoastalCool blue-greens paired with pale warm sand neutrals reflect the water-meets-shore contrast typical of a coastline.Nature paletteRelated questionCoral reefBright coral pinks and oranges against saturated turquoise water colour mirror the high-contrast palette typical of a healthy shallow reef.Nature palette
Meaning & story
Name origin
- Named after the Eurasian teal duck, whose distinctive blue-green eye-patch the colour resembles.
True of the cyan family generally
Inherited from the cyan hue family, not specifically documented about this exact shade — see methodology.
- Blue-green colours are commonly used in bathrooms and kitchens, often associated with cleanliness and water.
Terminology
Lighter, darker & directional variants
Calculated directional adjustments. Some directions converge on the same result from this starting colour — shown as one merged card with an explanation, not repeated duplicates. Generated shades link to a curated profile only when one is close enough.
Lighter
Lightness increased
Darker
Lightness decreased
Warmer & Greener & Redder & Yellower
Hue rotated toward warm (red/orange) From this starting colour, moving warmer and greener and redder and yellower converges on the same calculated result.
Cooler & Bluer
Hue rotated toward cool (blue) From this starting colour, moving cooler and bluer converges on the same calculated result.
More muted
Saturation softened
More saturated
Saturation increased This is close to the source colour itself — there is limited room left to move more saturated from here.
In nature
Technical details
Technical values
CMYK is an approximate device conversion, not a calibrated print value — see methodology.
Convert this colour to another format →
CSS/web-standard named colour value.
Characteristics
- Hue family
- cyan
- Undertone
- cool
- Tone depth
- deep
- Pastel
- No
- Earth tone
- No
- Jewel tone
- Yes
- Vivid
- Yes
- Greyness
- 0%
- Visual weight
- 85/100
Accessibility
vs. white text
4.77:1 — AA
vs. black text
4.40:1 — fails
Confidence: medium · Qualification: identity_only, technically_qualified, curated_profile_eligible, search_index_eligible, comparison_eligible
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