Is it possible to create this shape (two partial circles joined together) with CSS?

SVG

This is also possible using SVG.

The SVG version is very short as it mainly only requires an Arc command to control its shape, size and position.

<svg width="50%" viewbox="0 0 100 50">
  <path d="M50,35 
           a20,20 0 1,0 0,-20 
           a20,20 0 1,0 0,20z" 
        fill="white" 
        stroke="black">
  </path>
</svg>

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphic. The web browser views it as an image but you can add text and normal HTML elements within an SVG.

It is well supported across all browsers as viewable here: CanIUse


Using Borders: Recommended

You could do it the same way as in your second snippet and use positioning like in the below snippet to avoid the two div elements from overlapping. Here the circles are produced by pseudo-elements and the overlapping part is cut out using overflow: hidden on their parents.

One thing to note here is that any hover effect should be added on the pseudo-elements and not the parent elements. This is because if the :hover is attached to parent then it would be triggered even when hovering outside the circle (because the parent is still a square).

Out of all the three solutions provided in this answer, this is the one that has the best browser support and would work even in IE8. Hence, this is the recommended one.

.left, .right {
  position: relative;
  float: left;
  height: 200px;
  width: 200px;
  /* border: 1px solid; uncomment to see that they aren't overlapped */
  overflow: hidden;
}
.left:after, .right:after {
  position: absolute;
  content: '';
  height: calc(100% - 12px); /* 12px because of 6px border on either side */
  width: calc(100% - 12px); /* 12px because of 6px border on either side */
  border-radius: 50%;
  border: 6px solid gray;
}
.left:after { right: -20px; }
.right:after { left: -20px; }
<div class='left'></div>
<div class='right'></div>

Using Radial Gradients:

If you don't want to use pseudo-elements and a overflow: hidden on the parent then you could also make use of radial-gradient background images to produce the circle and position them such that they end up producing the required effect. Below is a sample snippet for this approach.

The downside of this approach is the low browser support for radial-gradient. It would not work in IE9 and lower. Plus, the circles produced by radial gradients are generally jagged (rough edges) and when we modify the color stop positions to make it smoother, it gives a slightly blurred appearance.

.left, .right {
  float: left;
  height: 200px;
  width: 200px;
  /*border: 1px solid;  uncomment to see that they aren't overlapped */
}

/* generally the below code should be enough to produce 6px thick circular border
.left {
  background: radial-gradient(circle at 70% 50%, transparent calc(50% - 3px), gray calc(50% - 3px), gray calc(50% + 3px), transparent calc(50% + 3px));
}
.right {
  background: radial-gradient(circle at 30% 50%, transparent calc(50% - 3px), gray calc(50% - 3px), gray calc(50% + 3px), transparent calc(50% + 3px));
}
*/

/* but it produces jagged edges and so we can change the color stops a bit like below
   this produces smoother circles but the disadvantage is that they'd look a bit blurred */
.left {
  background: radial-gradient(circle at 70% 50%, transparent calc(50% - 4px), gray calc(50% - 2px), gray calc(50% + 2px), transparent calc(50% + 4px));
}
.right {
  background: radial-gradient(circle at 30% 50%, transparent calc(50% - 4px), gray calc(50% - 2px), gray calc(50% + 2px), transparent calc(50% + 4px));
}
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/prefixfree/1.0.7/prefixfree.min.js"></script>
<div class='left'></div>
<div class='right'></div>

Using Clip Paths (CSS/SVG):

Another approach that could be used is to use clip-path. The advantage of this approach is that the hover effects would be triggered only when the cursor is within the circle (as can be seen in snippet). This is because the unnecessary portions are clipped.

Downside is again the poor browser support. CSS version of clip-path is supported only in Webkit but not in Firefox, IE whereas the SVG version (using inline SVG) is supported in Webkit, Firefox but not IE.

.left, .right {
  float: left;
  height: 200px;
  width: 200px;
  border-radius: 50%;
  border: 6px solid gray;
}

/* CSS Clip Path - not supported by FF and IE */
.left.css-clip {
  clip-path: polygon(0% 0%, 80% 0%, 80% 100%, 0% 100%);
}
.right.css-clip {
  margin-left: -86px;  /* 20% width * 2 (which is the clipped space) - border width */
  clip-path: polygon(20% 0%, 100% 0%, 100% 100%, 20% 100%);
}

/* SVG Clip Path - supported by Webkit, FF but not IE */
.left.svg-clip {
  clip-path: url(#clipper-left);
}
.right.svg-clip {
  margin-left: -86px;  /* 20% width * 2 (which is the clipped space) - border width */
  clip-path: url(#clipper-right);
}

/* Just for demo */

h3{ clear: both; }
.left:hover, .right:hover{ background: red; }
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/prefixfree/1.0.7/prefixfree.min.js"></script>

<h3>CSS Clip Path</h3>
<div class='left css-clip'></div>
<div class='right css-clip'></div>

<h3>SVG Clip Path</h3>
<div class='left svg-clip'></div>
<div class='right svg-clip'></div>

<!-- Inline SVG for SVG Clip Path -->
<svg width='0' height='0'>
  <defs>
    <clipPath id='clipper-left' clipPathUnits='objectBoundingBox'>
      <path d='M0,0 .8,0 .8,1 0,1z' />
      </clipPath>
    <clipPath id='clipper-right' clipPathUnits='objectBoundingBox'>
      <path d='M.2,0 1,0 1,1 .2,1z' />
      </clipPath>
    </defs>
  </svg>


Here's a solution using just a single <div>.

  1. .shape is a transparent circle with a 10px red border.
  2. .shape::before is an opaque white circle with a 10px red border.
  3. .shape::after is an opaque white circle (no border).

.shape {
margin: 6px auto;
}

.shape, .shape::before, .shape::after {
display: block;
position: relative;
width: 160px;
height: 160px;
border-radius: 160px;
}

.shape, .shape::before {
border: 10px solid #f00;
}

.shape::before, .shape::after {
content: "";
background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);
}

.shape::before {
top: -10px;
left: -150px;
}

.shape::after {
top: -180px;
}
<div class="shape"></div>

Tags:

Html

Css

Css Shapes

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