tan()

The tan() CSS function is a trigonometric function that returns the tangent of a number, which is a value between −infinity and infinity. The function contains a single calculation that must resolve to either a <number> or an <angle> by interpreting the result of the argument as radians.

Syntax

/* Single <angle> values */
width: calc(100px * tan(45deg));
width: calc(100px * tan(0.125turn));
width: calc(100px * tan(0.785398163rad));

/* Single <number> values */
width: calc(100px * tan(0.5773502));
width: calc(100px * tan(1.732 – 1));

/* Other values */
width: calc(100px * tan(pi / 3));
width: calc(100px * tan(e));

Parameter

The tan(angle) function accepts only one value as its parameter.

angle

A calculation which resolves to a <number> or an <angle>. When specifying unitless numbers they are interpreted as a number of radians, representing an <angle>.

Return value

The tangent of an angle will always return a number between −∞ and +∞.

  • If angle is infinity, -infinity, or NaN, the result is NaN.
  • If angle is 0⁻, the result is 0⁻.
  • If angle is one of the asymptote values (such as 90deg, 270deg, etc), the result must be for 90deg and all values a multiple of 360deg from that (such as -270deg or 450deg), and −∞ for -90deg and all values a multiple of 360deg from that (such as -450deg or 270deg).

Formal syntax

<tan()> = 
tan( <calc-sum> )

<calc-sum> =
<calc-product> [ [ '+' | '-' ] <calc-product> ]*

<calc-product> =
<calc-value> [ [ '*' | '/' ] <calc-value> ]*

<calc-value> =
<number> |
<dimension> |
<percentage> |
<calc-constant> |
( <calc-sum> )

<calc-constant> =
e |
pi |
infinity |
-infinity |
NaN

Examples

Draw parallelograms

The tan() function can be used draw a parallelogram.

HTML

<div class="parallelogram"></div>

CSS

.parallelogram {
  --w: 400;
  --h: 200;
  position: relative;
  width: calc(1px * var(--w));
  height: calc(1px * var(--h));
}
.parallelogram::before {
  --angle: calc(sin(var(--h) / var(--w)));
  content: "";
  position: absolute;
  width: calc(100% - 100% * var(--h) / var(--w) * tan(var(--angle)));
  height: 100%;
  transform-origin: 0 100%;
  transform: skew(calc(0 - var(--angle)));
  background-color: red;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Values and Units Module Level 4
# trig-funcs

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also