Difference between and tag of HTML

Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025

The and tags in HTML both style text as italic, but they serve different purposes. The tag is used for visual styling without semantic meaning, while conveys emphasis and adds semantic importance, improving accessibility and meaning in content.

Note: The tag adds semantic emphasis, while simply applies italic styling for offset text.

Table of Content

HTML tag
HTML tag
Difference between and tag of HTML

HTML tag

The tag in HTML is used to display text in italics. It is generally used for stylistic purposes, such as denoting a different mood, voice, or foreign word, without adding any semantic emphasis to the content.

Syntax

<i> Content... </i>

Example: In this example we use of the tag, rendering text in italics. It highlights the word "italic" and the tag name "" itself inside a paragraph for illustration.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
    <title>Use of <i> Tag</title>
</head>

<body>
    <p>This is an
        <i>italic</i>
        word using the
        <i>&lt;i&gt;</i>
        tag in HTML.
    </p>
</body>

</html>

Output:

HTML tag

The tag in HTML is used to emphasize text, typically displayed in italics. It conveys semantic meaning, indicating that the emphasized text is important, which can also aid accessibility tools like screen readers in highlighting key content.

Syntax

<em> Content... </em>

Example: In this example we use of the tag, which emphasizes text. It highlights the word "important" and the tag name "" itself within a paragraph for demonstration purposes.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
    <title>Use of <em> Tag</title>
</head>

<body>
    <p>This is an
        <em>important</em>
        word using the
        <em>&lt;em&gt;</em>
        tag in HTML.
    </p>
</body>

</html>

Output: