Unicode font
Unicode font is a computer font that maps glyphs to code points defined in the Unicode Standard. The term has become archaic because the vast majority of modern computer fonts use Unicode mappings, even those fonts which only include glyphs for a single writing system, or even only support the basic Latin alphabet. The distinction is historic: before Unicode, when most computer systems used only eight-bit bytes, no more than 256 characters could be encoded. This meant that each character repertoire had to have its own codepoint assignments and thus a given codepoint could have multiple meanings. By assuring unique assignments, Unicode resolved this issue.
Fonts which support a wide range of Unicode scripts and Unicode symbols are sometimes referred to as "pan-Unicode fonts", although as the maximum number of glyphs that can be defined in a TrueType font is restricted to 65,535, it is not possible for a single TrueType font to provide individual glyphs for all defined Unicode characters. This article lists some widely used Unicode fonts that support a comparatively large number and broad range of Unicode characters.
Background
The Unicode standard does not specify or create any font, a collection of graphical shapes called glyphs, itself. Rather, it defines the abstract characters as a specific number and also defines the required changes of shape depending on the context the glyph is used in. The choice of font, which governs how the abstract characters in the Universal Coded Character Set are converted into a bitmap or vector output that can then be viewed on a screen or printed, is left up to the user. If a font is chosen which does not contain a glyph for a code point used in the document, it typically displays a question mark, a box, or some other substitute character.Computer fonts use various techniques to display characters or glyphs. A bitmap font contains a grid of dots known as pixels forming an image of each glyph in each face and size. Outline fonts use drawing instructions or mathematical formulae to describe each glyph. Stroke fonts use a series of specified lines and additional information to define the profile, or size and shape of the line in a specific face and size, which together describe the appearance of the glyph.
Fonts also include embedded special orthographic rules to output certain combinations of letterforms be combined into special ligature forms. Operating systems, web browsers, and other software that extensively use typography, use a font to display text on the screen or print media, and can be programmed to use those embedded rules. Alternatively, they may use external script-shaping technologies, and they can also be programmed to use either a large Unicode font, or use multiple different fonts for different characters or languages.
No single "Unicode font" includes all the characters defined in the present revision of ISO 10646 standard, as more and more languages and characters
are continually added to it, and common font formats cannot contain more than 65,535 glyphs. As a result, font developers and foundries incorporate new characters in newer versions or revisions of a font, or in separate auxiliary fonts intended specifically for particular languages.
UCS has over 1.1 million code points, but only the first 65,536 had entered into common use before 2000.
The first Unicode fonts were Lucida Sans Unicode, Unihan font, and Everson Mono.
Issues
There are typographical ambiguities in Unicode, so that some of the unified Han characters will be typographically different in different regions. For example, Unicode point is typographically different between simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese. This has implications for the idea that a single typeface can satisfy the needs of all locales.The design of Unicode ensures that such differences do not create semantic ambiguity, but the use of incorrect forms is often considered visually awkward or aesthetically inappropriate to native readers of East Asian languages.
Application of Unicode fonts
is now the standard encoding for many new standards and protocols, and is built into the architecture of operating systems, programming languages, and libraries, font formats and so on. Many other standards are also getting upgraded to be Unicode-compliant.Utility software
Here is a selection of some of the utility software that can identify the characters present in a font file:- Character Map, applet included with Microsoft Windows
- Font Book, application included with Mac OS
- GNOME Character Map, application included with the GNOME desktop environment
- BabelMap, third-party software for Windows
List of Unicode fonts
| Font | Chars | Glyphs | Kernpairs | Point : hinting/ | Version & date | Filename, size | Font family | Font weight, style | Font type | Serif style | License | Creator / author | Notes |
| Arial | 3,988 | 3,988 | 909 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v6.80 2012-05-11 | arial.ttf | Arial | Medium, Regular | OTF+TTO | Normal Sans | Monotype Corporation | Included with Microsoft Windows | |
| Arial Unicode MS | 38,917 | 50,377 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~18: Hinted. 19+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v1.01 sfnt rev 1 2002-11-18 | ARIALUNI.TTF | Arial Unicode MS | Medium, Regular | OTF+TTO | Normal Sans | Agfa Monotype Corporation. Monotype Corporation. | Included with Microsoft Office 2013 and earlier versions | |
| Bitstream Cyberbit | 32,961 | 29,934 | 935 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v2.0 beta 1998-03-22 | Cyberbit.ttf | Bitstream Cyberbit | Medium, Roman | TTF | Cove | Bitstream Inc. | For non-commercial use only. | |
| BitstreamCyberCJK | 30,275 | 28,686 | 935 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v2.0 beta 1998-03-17 | Cyberbit.ttf | Bitstream CyberCJK | Medium, Book, Roman | TTF | Cove | Bitstream Inc. | For non-commercial use only. | |
| Brampton | 1,916 | 1,979 | 0 | v0.16 2011-09-22 | Brampton.ttf | Brampton | TTF | Slab serif | OFL | ||||
| Cardo | 2,879 | 2,882 | 216 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~12: Hinted. 13+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v0.099 sfnt rev 0.098999 2010-05-23 | Cardo99s.ttf | Cardo | Medium, Book, Regular | TTF | Cove | OFL v1.1 | David J. Perry | . |
| Caslon Roman | 3,683 | 3,686 | 0 | v001.000 2003-10-23 | CaslonRoman.sfd | Caslon | Roman | TTF | -like license | George Williams | |||
| Charis SIL | 2,172 | 4,661 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v4.106 sfnt rev 4.106 2009-03-18 | CharisSILR.ttf | Charis SIL | Medium, Regular | TTF | OFL | SIL International | ||
| Chryſanþi Unicode | 4,818 | 4,383 | 0 | 0+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v3.1 2001-07-15 | chrysuni.ttf | Chrysanthi Unicode | Medium, Regular | TTF | Dolgthrasir Mioethdrauci. Every Witch Way. | Commercial use must be first approved by author. | ||
| ClearlyU | 9,538 | 0 | v1.9 2002-11-22 | cu12.bdf & related other fonts in pkg | ClearlyU | Medium | Bitmap | Mark Leisher. Computing Research lab, New Mexico State University. | |||||
| Code2000 | 53,068 | 63,546 | 239 | 0~5: Smoothed. 6~6: Hinted. 7+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v1.171 sfnt rev 1.1709 2008-06-12 | CODE2000.TTF | Code2000 | Medium, Book, Regular | TTF | Shareware | James Kass | See SMP fonts for Code2001, Code2002. | |
| DejaVu Sans | 5,467 | 5,762 | 2,637 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v2.32 sfnt rev 2.31999 2010-08-22 | DejaVuSans.ttf | DejaVu Sans | Medium, Book | OTF+TTO | Normal Sans | Bitstream Vera license and public domain for additions | Bitstream, Inc. Tavmjong Bah. public domain. | |
| Everson Mono | 6,391 | 6,399 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~12: Hinted. 13+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v5.203 sfnt rev v5.203 2010-07-03 | Everson Mono.ttf | Everson Mono | Medium, Regular | TTF | Shareware | Michael Everson | Monospaced width. | |
| Gentium | 2,750+ | 4,600+ | extensive but clustered into overly generalized groups | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~12: Hinted. 13+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v7.000 2025-6-01 | Gentium_Regular.ttf | Gentium | Regular, Medium | OpenType | OFL | J. Victor Gaultney. SIL International | ||
| GNU FreeFont | 7,203 | 8,995 | 36,302 | 0~7: Smoothed. 8~16: Hinted. 17+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v0412.2263 sfnt rev 412.226 2012-05-03 | FreeSerif.ttf FreeSans.ttf FreeMono.ttf | FreeSerif FreeSans FreeMono | Medium | TTF | Cove | Free Software Foundation | ||
| GNU Unifont | 63,446 | 63,449 | 0 | 0+: Smoothed. | v15.0.06 2015-6-4 | unifont- 8.0.01.ttf unifont_upper_csur- 8.0.01.ttf | unifont | Medium | Bitmap, TTF, OTF | Roman Czyborra | . | ||
| HAN NOM A, HAN NOM B | 32,328 45,020 | 34,147 45,175 | 0 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~12: Hinted. 13+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v2.0; 2005 sfnt rev 2 2005-02-05 | HAN NOM A.TTF HAN NOM B.TTF | HAN NOM A HAN NOM B | Medium, Book, Regular | TTF | No Fit | Chan Nguyen, Thien Vien Chieu, To Minh Tam | . | |
| Horta | 1,858 | 1,988 | 0 | v0.7 2016-05-16 | Horta demo.ttf | Horta | TTF | Sans | OFL | ||||
| Junicode | 3,022 | 3,096 | 14,438 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v0.6.17 sfnt rev 0.599991 2009-07-11 | Junicode -Regular.ttf | Junicode | Medium, Book, Regular | TTF | Peter S. Baker | . | ||
| Kelvinch | 3,525 | 3,516 | Roman 8231/64858 Italic 12732/85349 Bold 7751/87753 Bold-Italic 12364/78554 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | V3.1 2016-04-03 | Kelvinch-Roman.otf Kelvinch-Italic.otf Kelvinch-Bold.otf Kelvinch-BoldItalic.otf | Kelvinch | Roman Italic Bold Bold-Italic | OTF+TTO | Oblique Square Cove | OFL | Paul J. Miller | |
| Linux Libertine | 2,549 | 2,552 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v4.7.5 sfnt rev 4.7 2010-06-15 | LinLibertine _Re-4.7.5.ttf | Linux Libertine | Medium, Book, Regular | OTF+TTO | , OFL | Philipp H. Poll | . | |
| Lucida Grande | 2,245 | 2,826 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted & Smoothed. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v5.0d8e1 sfnt rev 1.2 2003-03-07 | Lucida Grande.ttf | Lucida Grande | Medium, Regular | OTF | Normal Sans | Bigelow & Holmes Inc | Included with Mac OS X. Any proportion. | |
| Lucida Sans Unicode | 1,765 | 1,776 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted & Smoothed. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v2.00 1998-08-12 | l_10646.ttf | Lucida Sans | Medium, Regular | OTF+TTO | Normal Sans | Bigelow & Holmes Inc | Included with Microsoft Windows. | |
| Microsoft JhengHei | 28,958 | 29,220 | 583 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~20: Hinted & Smoothed. 21+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v6.02 sfnt rev 6.02 2009-02-25 | msjh.ttf | Microsoft JhengHei | Medium, Book, Regular | OTF+TTO | Normal Sans | Microsoft Corporation | Included with Microsoft Windows 7 | |
| Microsoft Sans Serif | 2,788 | 3,077 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~14: Hinted. 15+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v5.02 sfnt rev 5.02 2009-02-12 | micross.ttf | Microsoft Sans Serif | Medium, Book, Regular | OTF+TTO | Normal Sans | Microsoft Corporation | Included with Microsoft Windows. | |
| New Gulim | 46,567 | 49,284 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v3.10 sfnt rev 1 2002-10-29 | nGulim.ttf | New Gulim | Medium, Regular | TTF | Normal Sans. Obtuse Cove | HanYang System Co., LTD. | Included with Microsoft Office. Any Proportion. | |
| Noto | 65,535 | 65,535 | 0 | N/A | 1.001 | N/A | Noto | Thin, Light, DemiLight, Regular, Medium, Bold, Black | OTF | Normal Sans | OFL | Included with Android | |
| PragmataPro | 6,148 | 7,414 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | 0.824 2016-09-16 | PragmataProR_0824.ttf | PragmataPro | Regular, Bold, Italic, Bold Italic, Mono Regular, Mono Bold, Mono Italic, Mono Bold Italic, | TTF | Normal Sans | Fabrizio Schiavi | ||
| Quivira | 11,053 | 10,486 | 0 | 0+: Smoothed. | v4.1 | Quivira.otf | Quivira | Normal | OTF | Cove | Alexander Lange | Proportional Serif. . | |
| Segoe UI Regular | 5,008 | 8,293 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7+: Hinted & Smoothed | v5.32 2013-07-30 | segoeui.ttf | Segoe UI | Regular | TTF | Microsoft Corporation | Included with Microsoft Windows. | |||
| Squarish Sans CT | 1,609 | 1,757 | 0 | v0.10 2011-09-22 | Squarish Sans CT Regular.ttf | Squarish Sans CT | TTF | Sans | OFL | A version of the popular Bank Gothic | |||
| STIX | 3,290 | 3,292 | 1,016 | 0+: Hinting & Smoothed. | v1.0.0 sfnt rev 1.0 2010-04-29 | STIXGeneral.otf | STIXGeneral | Medium, Book, Regular | OTF | The STI Pub Companies. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. MicroPress, Inc. Elsevier, Inc. | . | ||
| Sun-ExtA, Sun-ExtB | 50,112 47,564 | 50,016 47,660 | 0 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. 0~7: Smoothed. 8~18: Hinted. 19+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v5.4 sfnt rev 5 2009-01-03 v5.4 sfnt rev 5.39999 2009-02-02 | Sun-ExtA.ttf Sun-ExtB.ttf | Sun-ExtA Sun-ExtB | Medium, Book, Regular | TTF | No Fit | Both Freeware. Proprietary | okuc. Beijing ZhongYi Electronics Co. | . |
| Tahoma | 1,912 | 3,412 | 674 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~12: Hinted. 13+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v5.06 2009-02-12 | tahoma.ttf | Tahoma | Medium, Regular | OTF+TTO | Normal Sans | Microsoft Corporation | Included with Microsoft Windows. | |
| Times New Roman | 2,790 | 3,414 | 867 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~13: Hinted. 14+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v5.05 2009-02-06 | times.ttf | Times New Roman | Medium, Regular | OTF+TTO | Cove | Proprietary;only some versions up to version 2.82 were Freeware | The Monotype Corporation. | Proportional Serif. Included with Microsoft Windows. |
| TITUS Cyberbit Basic | 9,209 | 10,044 | 0 | 0~6: Smoothed. 7~12: Hinted. 13+: Hinted & Smoothed. | v3.0 sfnt rev 4 2005-10-08 | TITUSCBZ.TTF | TITUS Cyberbit Basic | Medium, Regular | TTF | Cove | Bitstream Inc / TITUS project. | ||
| WenQuanYi Bitmap Song | 41,295 | 154,997 | 0 | 1.0.0-RC1 | WenQuanYi Bitmap Song | Regular | Multi-strike Bitmap Font | Song Style for Chinese | It has full coverage to GB18030 Hanzi at 11-16px font sizes. . | ||||
| WenQuanYi Micro Hei | 34,707 | 48,755 | 0 | 0.2.0-beta | WenQuanYi Micro Hei and WenQuanYi Micro Hei Mono | Regular, Light | TTC | Hei Style for Chinese | Derived from the Droid Sans font and is readable in compact sizes. | ||||
| WenQuanYi Zen Hei | 42,285 | 43,643 | 0 | v0.9.45 sfnt rev 0.89994 2010-03-11 | wqy-zenhei.ttc | WenQuanYi Zen Hei, WenQuanYi Zen Hei Mono and WenQuanYi Zen Hei Sharp | Medium, Regular | TTC | Hei Style for Chinese | Qianqian Fang and WenQuanYi Board of Trustees. | . | ||
| Y.OzFontN | 21,957 | 57,621 | 0 | 0~18: Hinted & Smoothed. 19+: Hinted & Smoothed | v13.00 sfnt rev 5 Pen-Ji 2010-08-24 | YOzRN.TTC | YOzFontN | Regular | TTC | Y.OzVox | Sans-serif and Monospace. . | ||
| XITS | 3,290 | 3,292 | 1,016 | 0+: Hinting & Smoothed. | v1.0.10 2011-04-25 | xits-regular.otf | XITS | Medium, Book, Regular | OTF | OFL | Khaled Hosny | First four columns are identical to STIX of which this is math extension. . | |
| Font | Char | Glyphs | Kernpairs | Point : hinting/ | Version & date | Filename, size | Font family | Font weight, style | Font type | Serif style | License | Creator / author | Notes |
; Note