HTML <rb> Tag

The HTML <rb> tag is obsolete and should no longer be used in modern HTML documents.

Note: According to the WHATWG HTML Living Standard, the <rb> element is obsolete and non-conforming. Modern browsers handle ruby base text natively without needing the <rb> wrapper.

Ruby (also spelled rubi) characters are small, annotative glosses that can be placed above or to the right of a character when writing logographic languages such as Chinese or Japanese to show pronunciation.

Modern Alternative

Instead of wrapping base text in an <rb> element, you should simply place the base text directly inside the <ruby> element, followed by the <rt> tag.

Like this:

Legacy Syntax (Obsolete)

Historically, the <rb> tag was written as <rb></rb> to explicitly wrap base text:

Attributes

Attributes can be added to an HTML element to provide more information about how the element should appear or behave.

The <rb> element accepts the following attributes.

AttributeDescription
none 

Global Attributes

The following attributes are standard across all HTML elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <rb> tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.

Event Handlers

Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain "event" occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.

Most event handler content attributes can be used on all HTML elements, but some event handlers have specific rules around when they can be used and which elements they are applicable to.

For more detail, see HTML event handler content attributes.