<p>Stan's answers are great, but assume <strong>NATIVE speakers</strong>.  As a newbie, and assuming  <strong>GRAYSCALE</strong> (I personally find it hard to read anything lower than 16x16)...  If you are using an OLED display that is only capable of <strong>monochrome</strong>, I think newbies will need MUCH higher (at least 24x24).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-29T06:24:04.297Z
I've just run into trying to show Chinese on an OLED (1-bit; on/off) display also. See [Drawing multilingual text using PIL and saving as 1-bit and 8-bit bitmaps](https://stackoverflow.com/q/47545359/3904031).
uhoh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-13T22:18:48.987Z
2016-07-13T22:18:48.987Z
firmware
<h1>Fonts designed with 7×7 characters</h1>
<p>Note that in some font names and bitmap strike sizes below, &quot;8 pixels&quot; refers to <strong>7 pixels character size plus 1 pixel spacing</strong> between characters, whereas <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16669/lowest-pixel-resolution-needed-to-support-chinese/16675#16675">the highest-voted answer above</a> refers to a larger character size of 8 pixels.</p>
<p>The following fonts have 7×7 Chinese characters:</p>
<ul>
<li>The font 超宋体. <strong>Please help me find it</strong> - see <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/54703/downloading-low-resolution-chinese-fonts-7-pixels-high">this question</a>.</li>
<li>The font 明兰终. <strong>Please help me find it</strong> - see <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/54703/downloading-low-resolution-chinese-fonts-7-pixels-high">this question</a>.</li>
<li>The fonts <a href="http://www.xz7.com/downinfo/298122.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">明兰_UI, 明兰_Mono_TC, and other fonts with similar names</a>. I don't know (see <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/54703/downloading-low-resolution-chinese-fonts-7-pixels-high/54758?noredirect=1#comment73851_54758">here</a>) whether the 7×7 characters there are the same as in the font 明兰终.</li>
<li>The font <a href="https://3type.cn/fonts/dinkie_bitmap/index.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DinkieBitmap</a>. It supports various writing systems in addition to Chinese.</li>
<li>The font <a href="https://github.com/Warren2060/Chill-Bitmap" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chill-Bitmap</a>.</li>
<li>The font <a href="https://github.com/scott0107000/BoutiqueBitmap7x7" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BoutiqueBitmap7x7</a>. Its early version was used to create the font Chill-Bitmap.</li>
<li>A font that is included in the fonts XiaoDianZhen and ZFull-GB, as mentioned <a href="https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/142419693" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</li>
<li>The font Zfull-BIG5.</li>
<li>The font <a href="https://www.maoken.com/freefonts/11358.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">观致8px</a>. It was used to create the font BoutiqueBitmap7x7 version 1.5 and a little bit to create the font Chill-Bitmap.</li>
<li>The font <a href="https://littlelimit.net/misaki.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">美咲フォント</a>. It (or early ones of <a href="https://littlelimit.net/misaki.htm#history" rel="nofollow noreferrer">its versions</a>) was used to create BoutiqueBitmap7x7, 观致8px, and Chill-Bitmap.</li>
</ul>
<p>Comparison of 观致8px, BoutiqueBitmap7x7, 美咲ゴシック (one of <a href="https://littlelimit.net/misaki.htm#sample" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the variants of 美咲フォント</a>), and Chill-Bitmap:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xzgWY.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xzgWY.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-02T12:43:39.763Z
2023-07-04T12:54:37.163Z
2023-07-04T12:54:37.163Z
root
<p>There are 2 fonts that support Chinese.</p>
<p>First is the closed-source font: <a href="https://3type.cn/fonts/dinkie_bitmap/index.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dinkie Bitmap (丁卯点阵体)</a>. It has a set of ~7300 characters and support multi language.<br />
The second is open-source: <a href="https://github.com/Warren2060/Chill-Bitmap" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chill Bitmap (寒蝉点阵体)</a>. It has ~13600 chars, but I don't know there are many chars stolen from Dinkie or not.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-20T08:33:23.403Z
But that is not at all what the question is asking about.
tripleee
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-20T08:31:19.177Z
2022-04-20T08:31:19.177Z
diaowinner
<p>If you are working on commercial applications, the smallest size character for simplified or traditional Chinese bitmap font is 11x12 (W x H) pixels. Anything smaller than that will give you problems and result in customer complaint. On the other hand, if you are doing something non-commercial in nature, you can try smaller sizes of bitmap fonts at your own risk. To get info on high quality bitmap fonts for commercial applications, go to <a href="http://www.bitmapfonts.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.bitmapfonts.com</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-03T07:32:05.513Z
2021-09-03T07:46:24.707Z
2021-09-03T07:46:24.707Z
James
<h1>8x8: Lowest necessary resolution for Chinese characters</h1>

<p>As far as I know, the <strong>recognizable lowest resolution</strong> for Chinese characters, is about <code>8x8</code> pixels. The following paragraphs are rendered by the <strong><em>Special SimSun</em></strong> font's smallest 8x8 bitmap glyphs (Note: "<em>Before Revision</em>" is rendered by the Windows Vista's default <code>simsun.ttc</code>; "<em>After Revision</em>" shows how Special Simsun improves the quality). I believe native speakers are able to read these 8x8 resolution characters within the context, though a few are difficult to be recognized individually.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/aJq9S.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/aJq9S.png" alt="Special SimSun"></a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"The <strong>Special SimSun</strong> font is revised based on <code>simsun.ttc</code> and <code>mingliu.ttc</code> contained in Windows Vista: First, it replaces ugly bitmap glyphs of Windows Vista's <code>simsun.ttc</code> with those of Windows XP's, and adds a few other bitmap glyphs; Second, it completes the bitmap glyphs in CJK EXT A (6852 characters), and supports the GB18030 character set (27533 characters) – especially, some low-resolution bitmap glyphs are included so that characters can be rendered in the bitmap way under 6pt–21pt for 96dpi; Finally, all bitmap glyphs are revised one by one, so the rendering quality is improved." — By the author of this font</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It would be remiss of me not to mention the <code>7x7</code> resolution font: <code>超宋体</code> (<strong>Super Song</strong>) made by <a href="http://bbs.themex.net/showthread.php?t=16852265" rel="noreferrer">夏夏@bbs.themex.net</a>. However, this font is <strong><em>simplified Chinese only</em></strong>, and we can imagine it will be even more difficult to read than <code>8x8</code> resolution characters, so my conclusion for OP's question is "about <code>8x8</code>".</p>

<h1>12x12 would be moderate</h1>

<p>The following paragraphs are rendered by the <code>方正像素12</code> font with its <code>12x12</code> resolution glyphs. Almost every character can be recognized without context. Of course, compared with the <code>16x16</code> resolution, it has to lose strokes even for many simplified characters; however, yes, native speakers may feel relaxed to read them now.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/a96ES.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/a96ES.png" alt="方正像素12"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-19T16:16:39.780Z
Hey @Stan, do you happen to know where we could find the _Special SimSun_ font? Also, thank you for this great writeup — it's still useful after three years!
rramphal
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-01T06:56:28.217Z
@rramphal try [this link](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GMzc4jfLKk_1fKsi6Q_hlTKQ8ebH1JO2/view?usp=sharing)
Stan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-02T07:18:07.283Z
.@Stan thank you so much for taking the time to upload it! Unfortunately, when I loaded it, it loaded as Sim Sun regular. Do you mind double-checking? 
rramphal
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-02T09:07:14.997Z
@rramphal SimSun-special.ttf SHA1 = `079ac3d82f5bad960296ead8ae714b347ff3ea85`. It seemed the font maker didn't fill up all the properties carefully: **PostScript name** missing, **Full name** corrupt `®™°•?`; **Family** OK `SimSun`, but **Style** `regular` (notice it's not `Regular` as the original SimSun). And finally the font's **Unique name** is `特制宋体`. You may check the details by using a proper font viewer, e.g. Font Book on macOS.
Stan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-27T15:15:51.500Z
Is there a URI that works in 2021 for the typeface that works for 8x8?
Snowy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-24T10:07:27.227Z
Any place to find the font right now?
Alexander Z.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-25T13:00:19.793Z
Where can the `7x7` resolution font `超宋体` (**Super Song**) be found? The download links [[1](http://www.namipan.com/d/%5b简体%5d超宋体.7z/f3afce5ad2260b20ceb320e8efd61e8192258bf0cb1a6100), [2](http://www.namipan.com/d/BDF.7z/6a7d8e7869e4cd48fa806f1bcc4cb2b249dbe042e6173902), [3](http://www.damipan.com/file/1kjg1YB.html)] in the [archived version](https://web.archive.org/web/20160623185716/http://bbs.themex.net/showthread.php?t=16852265) of the link above don't work.
root
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-02T13:07:35.397Z
@AlexanderZ. Thank you for the bounty on [the search](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/54703/)! Is your bounty meant to push the search for the font 超宋体 or 明兰终 or both? I wanted to split that question into two questoins (one for each font) because the two discussions are separate and growing, but I don't want to interfere with your bounty.
root
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-03T12:24:18.047Z
2015-12-04T06:55:58.847Z
2015-12-04T06:55:58.847Z
Stan
<p>We are creating a product which has an small embedded OLED display (64 x 48 pixels). We would love to support Chinese in this product and wonder what is that smallest resolution that would be needed to support Chinese writing?</p>

<p>I assume simplified Chinese would give the best result? </p>

<p>Currently in our product, which supports English only, our smallest font size is 5 x 7. I'm pretty sure Chinese symbols will need more resolution.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-02T10:11:39.653Z
It seems for recognizable Chinese characters, the resolution should be no lower than 7*7. I'm using my phone so I can't go check, you may download the fonts mentioned in this [page](http://www.zhihu.com/question/19704618).
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-02T10:30:49.807Z
@Stan - I don't believe 7x7 is correct as counting the lines in some of those symbols its more... around 12.
TheGrovesy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-02T10:30:53.610Z
@songyuanyao - Where do you get 16x16 from? I guess you are counting the pixels in the example on the link you supplied? The edge pixels are not used and again its looking like 12x12 might be sufficent!
TheGrovesy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-02T10:36:58.523Z
I just did a search for 'nintendo gameboy chinese symbols' and found this interesting link: [link](http://www.mqp.com/fun/gb_chi.htm). It suggests that 16x16 is normal but it can be achieved using 11x11 or 12x12.
@songyuanyao - I have just seen your reply. Unfortunately my company has blocked that weblink! but it looks like I am close to an answer. I will check out that link at home. Thanks for the help.
TheGrovesy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-02T12:00:38.950Z
@TheGrovesy there are a few **actual fonts with 8x8 pixels** in the link of my first comment, and I did see some samples before. I describe them as "recognizable", because it may be the limit to native speakers (with context). For 12x12, that can render a character rather clearly.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-29T06:25:46.170Z
How did things go? You are welcome to consider posting an answer to [Drawing multilingual text using PIL and saving as 1-bit and 8-bit bitmaps](https://stackoverflow.com/q/47545359/3904031).
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-12-23T19:29:13.533Z
Related: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/142419693 https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/338579385
root
<simplified-characters><writing><fonts>
Lowest pixel resolution needed to support Chinese?
# Lowest pixel resolution needed to support Chinese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-12-02)

We are creating a product which has an small embedded OLED display (64 x 48 pixels). We would love to support Chinese in this product and wonder what is that smallest resolution that would be needed to support Chinese writing?

I assume simplified Chinese would give the best result?

Currently in our product, which supports English only, our smallest font size is 5 x 7. I'm pretty sure Chinese symbols will need more resolution.

**Tags:** simplified-characters, writing, fonts
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It seems for recognizable Chinese characters, the resolution should be no lower than 7*7. I'm using my phone so I can't go check, you may download the fonts mentioned in this [page](http://www.zhihu.com/question/19704618).  
> **username_0**: @Stan - I don't believe 7x7 is correct as counting the lines in some of those symbols its more... around 12.  
> **username_0**: @songyuanyao - Where do you get 16x16 from? I guess you are counting the pixels in the example on the link you supplied? The edge pixels are not used and again its looking like 12x12 might be sufficent!  
> **username_0**: I just did a search for 'nintendo gameboy chinese symbols' and found this interesting link: [link](http://www.mqp.com/fun/gb_chi.htm). It suggests that 16x16 is normal but it can be achieved using 11x11 or 12x12. @songyuanyao - I have just seen your reply. Unfortunately my company has blocked that weblink! but it looks like I am close to an answer. I will check out that link at home. Thanks for the help.  
> **username_1**: @TheGrovesy there are a few **actual fonts with 8x8 pixels** in the link of my first comment, and I did see some samples before. I describe them as "recognizable", because it may be the limit to native speakers (with context). For 12x12, that can render a character rather clearly.  
> **username_2**: How did things go? You are welcome to consider posting an answer to [Drawing multilingual text using PIL and saving as 1-bit and 8-bit bitmaps](https://stackoverflow.com/q/47545359/3904031).  
> **username_3**: Related: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/142419693 https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/338579385  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-12-03. Score: 29 | Accepted answer

# 8x8: Lowest necessary resolution for Chinese characters

As far as I know, the **recognizable lowest resolution** for Chinese characters, is about `8x8` pixels. The following paragraphs are rendered by the ***Special SimSun*** font's smallest 8x8 bitmap glyphs (Note: "*Before Revision*" is rendered by the Windows Vista's default `simsun.ttc`; "*After Revision*" shows how Special Simsun improves the quality). I believe native speakers are able to read these 8x8 resolution characters within the context, though a few are difficult to be recognized individually.

[![Special SimSun](https://i.sstatic.net/aJq9S.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/aJq9S.png)

> "The **Special SimSun** font is revised based on `simsun.ttc` and `mingliu.ttc` contained in Windows Vista: First, it replaces ugly bitmap glyphs of Windows Vista's `simsun.ttc` with those of Windows XP's, and adds a few other bitmap glyphs; Second, it completes the bitmap glyphs in CJK EXT A (6852 characters), and supports the GB18030 character set (27533 characters) – especially, some low-resolution bitmap glyphs are included so that characters can be rendered in the bitmap way under 6pt–21pt for 96dpi; Finally, all bitmap glyphs are revised one by one, so the rendering quality is improved." — By the author of this font

It would be remiss of me not to mention the `7x7` resolution font: `超宋体` (**Super Song**) made by [夏夏@bbs.themex.net](http://bbs.themex.net/showthread.php?t=16852265). However, this font is ***simplified Chinese only***, and we can imagine it will be even more difficult to read than `8x8` resolution characters, so my conclusion for OP's question is "about `8x8`".

# 12x12 would be moderate

The following paragraphs are rendered by the `方正像素12` font with its `12x12` resolution glyphs. Almost every character can be recognized without context. Of course, compared with the `16x16` resolution, it has to lose strokes even for many simplified characters; however, yes, native speakers may feel relaxed to read them now.

[![方正像素12](https://i.sstatic.net/a96ES.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/a96ES.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: Hey @Stan, do you happen to know where we could find the _Special SimSun_ font? Also, thank you for this great writeup — it's still useful after three years!  
> **username_1**: @rramphal try [this link](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GMzc4jfLKk_1fKsi6Q_hlTKQ8ebH1JO2/view?usp=sharing)  
> **username_8**: .@Stan thank you so much for taking the time to upload it! Unfortunately, when I loaded it, it loaded as Sim Sun regular. Do you mind double-checking?   
> **username_1**: @rramphal SimSun-special.ttf SHA1 = `079ac3d82f5bad960296ead8ae714b347ff3ea85`. It seemed the font maker didn't fill up all the properties carefully: **PostScript name** missing, **Full name** corrupt `®™°•?`; **Family** OK `SimSun`, but **Style** `regular` (notice it's not `Regular` as the original SimSun). And finally the font's **Unique name** is `特制宋体`. You may check the details by using a proper font viewer, e.g. Font Book on macOS.  
> **username_9**: Is there a URI that works in 2021 for the typeface that works for 8x8?  
> **username_10**: Any place to find the font right now?  
> **username_3**: Where can the `7x7` resolution font `超宋体` (**Super Song**) be found? The download links [[1](http://www.namipan.com/d/%5b简体%5d超宋体.7z/f3afce5ad2260b20ceb320e8efd61e8192258bf0cb1a6100), [2](http://www.namipan.com/d/BDF.7z/6a7d8e7869e4cd48fa806f1bcc4cb2b249dbe042e6173902), [3](http://www.damipan.com/file/1kjg1YB.html)] in the [archived version](https://web.archive.org/web/20160623185716/http://bbs.themex.net/showthread.php?t=16852265) of the link above don't work.  
> **username_3**: @AlexanderZ. Thank you for the bounty on [the search](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/54703/)! Is your bounty meant to push the search for the font 超宋体 or 明兰终 or both? I wanted to split that question into two questoins (one for each font) because the two discussions are separate and growing, but I don't want to interfere with your bounty.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-07-13. Score: 3

Stan's answers are great, but assume **NATIVE speakers**. As a newbie, and assuming **GRAYSCALE** (I personally find it hard to read anything lower than 16x16)... If you are using an OLED display that is only capable of **monochrome**, I think newbies will need MUCH higher (at least 24x24).

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I've just run into trying to show Chinese on an OLED (1-bit; on/off) display also. See [Drawing multilingual text using PIL and saving as 1-bit and 8-bit bitmaps](https://stackoverflow.com/q/47545359/3904031).  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-07-02. Score: 2

# Fonts designed with 7×7 characters

Note that in some font names and bitmap strike sizes below, "8 pixels" refers to **7 pixels character size plus 1 pixel spacing** between characters, whereas [the highest-voted answer above](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16669/lowest-pixel-resolution-needed-to-support-chinese/16675#16675) refers to a larger character size of 8 pixels.

The following fonts have 7×7 Chinese characters:

* The font 超宋体. **Please help me find it** - see [this question](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/54703/downloading-low-resolution-chinese-fonts-7-pixels-high).
* The font 明兰终. **Please help me find it** - see [this question](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/54703/downloading-low-resolution-chinese-fonts-7-pixels-high).
* The fonts [明兰\_UI, 明兰\_Mono\_TC, and other fonts with similar names](http://www.xz7.com/downinfo/298122.html). I don't know (see [here](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/54703/downloading-low-resolution-chinese-fonts-7-pixels-high/54758?noredirect=1#comment73851_54758)) whether the 7×7 characters there are the same as in the font 明兰终.
* The font [DinkieBitmap](https://3type.cn/fonts/dinkie_bitmap/index.html). It supports various writing systems in addition to Chinese.
* The font [Chill-Bitmap](https://github.com/Warren2060/Chill-Bitmap).
* The font [BoutiqueBitmap7x7](https://github.com/scott0107000/BoutiqueBitmap7x7). Its early version was used to create the font Chill-Bitmap.
* A font that is included in the fonts XiaoDianZhen and ZFull-GB, as mentioned [here](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/142419693).
* The font Zfull-BIG5.
* The font [观致8px](https://www.maoken.com/freefonts/11358.html). It was used to create the font BoutiqueBitmap7x7 version 1.5 and a little bit to create the font Chill-Bitmap.
* The font [美咲フォント](https://littlelimit.net/misaki.htm). It (or early ones of [its versions](https://littlelimit.net/misaki.htm#history)) was used to create BoutiqueBitmap7x7, 观致8px, and Chill-Bitmap.

Comparison of 观致8px, BoutiqueBitmap7x7, 美咲ゴシック (one of [the variants of 美咲フォント](https://littlelimit.net/misaki.htm#sample)), and Chill-Bitmap:
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/xzgWY.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/xzgWY.png)


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2022-04-20. Score: 0

There are 2 fonts that support Chinese.

First is the closed-source font: [Dinkie Bitmap (丁卯点阵体)](https://3type.cn/fonts/dinkie_bitmap/index.html). It has a set of ~7300 characters and support multi language.  
The second is open-source: [Chill Bitmap (寒蝉点阵体)](https://github.com/Warren2060/Chill-Bitmap). It has ~13600 chars, but I don't know there are many chars stolen from Dinkie or not.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: But that is not at all what the question is asking about.  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2021-09-03. Score: 0

If you are working on commercial applications, the smallest size character for simplified or traditional Chinese bitmap font is 11x12 (W x H) pixels. Anything smaller than that will give you problems and result in customer complaint. On the other hand, if you are doing something non-commercial in nature, you can try smaller sizes of bitmap fonts at your own risk. To get info on high quality bitmap fonts for commercial applications, go to <http://www.bitmapfonts.com>


---

