Choosing the Right Fonts for Chinese, Japanese & Korean

Designing websites in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean (CJK) presents unique typographic challenges. Choosing the right fonts isn’t just a style decision — it directly impacts readability, brand perception, and user experience.

The best fonts for CJK websites balance readability, cultural fit, and loading performance. Use Simplified Chinese fonts for Mainland China, Traditional Chinese for Taiwan and Hong Kong, and language-specific fonts for Japanese and Korean.

Learn how to choose the best fonts for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean websites. Improve readability, SEO, and user trust with culturally appropriate, performance-optimized font stacks.

1. Why Fonts Deserve Special Attention

Visual Density and Complexity

• CJK languages use thousands of unique characters, compared to the ~26 letters in English.
• This means fonts must contain tens of thousands of glyphs — making file sizes and design considerations much more complex.

Font Rendering Matters

• Many browsers default to generic fallback fonts that may not render properly.
• For example, if a Korean font is missing, users may see Chinese characters instead — and vice versa.

Cultural Sensitivity

• A Chinese website using a Japanese-style font can confuse or alienate users.
• Even within China, Sans-serif fonts like Noto Sans SC are often preferred for digital reading, while Songti or serif fonts are used for more formal documents.

“A font isn’t just a design choice—it’s a cultural signal.” — Type Network

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2. What Fonts Work Best for Each Language?

🇨🇳 Chinese (Simplified)

Preferred Regions: Mainland China, Singapore
Recommended Fonts:
🅰️ Noto Sans SC
🅰️ Source Han Sans SC (思源黑体 SC)
🍏 PingFang SC (Apple devices only)

Fallback Stack (CSS):
font-family: 'Noto Sans SC', 'PingFang SC', 'Microsoft YaHei', sans-serif;

📝 Notes:
Best for Simplified Chinese users. Sans-serif fonts are easier to read on screens. Always test across macOS, Windows, and Android to ensure consistent rendering.

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🇹🇼 Chinese (Traditional)

Preferred Regions: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau
Recommended Fonts:
🅰️ Noto Sans TC
🅰️ Source Han Sans TC (思源黑体 TC)
🍏 PingFang TC (Apple devices only)

Fallback Stack (CSS):
font-family: 'Noto Sans TC', 'PingFang TC', 'Heiti TC', sans-serif;

📝 Notes:
For Traditional Chinese users, consider more elegant styles. Avoid mixing Simplified and Traditional characters in the same sentence unless styled intentionally.

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🇯🇵 Japanese

Preferred Region: Japan
Recommended Fonts:
🅰️ Noto Sans JP
🅰️ Yu Gothic UI
🍏 Hiragino Sans (Apple devices only)

Fallback Stack (CSS):
font-family: 'Noto Sans JP', 'Yu Gothic UI', 'Hiragino Sans', sans-serif;

📝 Notes:
Fonts must support kanji + kana. Be careful with proportional spacing. Some kana can appear too small if line height isn’t adjusted.

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🇰🇷 Korean

Preferred Region: South Korea
Recommended Fonts:
🅰️ Noto Sans KR
🅰️ Nanum Gothic
🍏 Apple SD Gothic Neo

Fallback Stack (CSS):
font-family: 'Noto Sans KR', 'Nanum Gothic', 'Malgun Gothic', sans-serif;

📝 Notes:
Hangul line spacing varies widely across fonts. Test in Chrome, Safari, and mobile views to avoid compressed or overly loose text.

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3. Do You Need Separate Fonts for Each Language?

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4. How Font Choice Impacts SEO and UX

SEO

• Fonts affect page speed. Heavy fonts slow down mobile load times, which affects Core Web Vitals.
• Google can index text in web fonts if loaded properly.
• Avoid using text in images — it’s not indexable and hurts accessibility.

User Experience (UX)

• Well-chosen fonts reduce cognitive load, making reading smoother.
• Culturally appropriate fonts build user trust — especially important for industries like finance, health, and education.

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5. Bonus Tips: Styling, Line Spacing, and Font Sizes

Line Height

• Use 1.5 to 1.8em for CJK text — characters are denser and need vertical breathing room.

Font Sizes

• Body text: 16–18px for Chinese and Korean
• Japanese kana: can appear smaller, so test with users

Style Consistency

• Don’t mix Traditional and Simplified characters.
• Avoid combining Latin and CJK fonts in the same sentence unless carefully styled.

Web Safe Fonts (for fallback)

• 'Microsoft YaHei' (Windows)
• 'PingFang SC' (macOS)
• 'Apple SD Gothic Neo' (macOS)
• 'Malgun Gothic' (Windows Korean)

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6. Practical Typography Tips for CJK Web Designers

✅ Use font-display: swap

This ensures fallback fonts appear immediately, improving first contentful paint (FCP).

@font-face {
  font-display: swap;
}

✅ Avoid full-style downloads

Use WOFF2 format and limit font weights (e.g., only regular + bold) to reduce load times.

✅ Preload key fonts

In your HTML <head>:

<link rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin href="/fonts/NotoSansSC-Regular.woff2">

✅ Always test on local devices

Fonts render differently on Windows, macOS, and mobile — check your designs across environments.

✅ Respect vertical rhythm

Balance line-height with font size so characters don’t feel cramped, especially in vertical scripts or hybrid layouts.

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Conclusion: Pick Fonts that Speak Your Audience’s Language

👉How to Translate Chinese Writing: A Beginner-Friendly Guide

👉Should You Use Google Translate for Chinese? 3 Reasons to Think Twice

👉Are Translation Apps Rude to Use When Traveling?

Your website’s font isn’t just a design decision — it’s a strategic move. With the right CJK font setup, you improve comprehension, build trust, and deliver better results.

Start small: pick fonts that fit your users’ location and platform. Optimize for speed. Test and adjust. Your readers will notice — and stay longer.

If you’re not sure which fonts work best for your project, reach out — we’d be happy to help you create a font stack that works beautifully across Chinese, Japanese, and Korean screens.