How to Select and Use Chinese Fonts in Windows and Office
Question details
The user needs to know how to install Chinese language support and apply Chinese fonts to type and display characters correctly.
- Product
- Windows and Microsoft Office
- Device & OS
- Windows
- Scenario
- Creating or editing multilingual documents that require typing and formatting Chinese characters.
- Observed behavior
- To type and display Chinese text correctly, appropriate language packs must be installed in the operating system and selected in the Office application's font menu.
Ensure your Windows operating system is up to date and that your device is connected to the internet to download the necessary language packs and font files.
Install Chinese Language Features in Windows
Adding Chinese to your Windows language settings will automatically download and install the required typing features and standard Chinese fonts.
Before selecting fonts in Office, your operating system needs to have the language resources installed. Windows natively handles this through its Time & Language settings.
Click the Start button, open 'Settings', select 'Time & Language', and then click on 'Language' (or 'Language & region' in Windows 11) from the sidebar.
Click the 'Add a language' button. In the search bar, type 'Chinese' and select either Chinese (Simplified) or Chinese (Traditional) based on your needs, then click 'Next'.
Make sure the boxes for 'Language pack', 'Basic typing', and 'Optical character recognition' are checked, then click 'Install'. Wait for the download to complete.
Select and Set Default Chinese Fonts in Office
Once the fonts are installed on your device, you can apply them to your text or set them as the default Asian text font in Word or Excel.
Easily Manage and Use Chinese Fonts with WPS Office
WPS Office offers seamless support for multiple languages and Asian typography. Once Chinese language packs are installed on your Windows device, WPS Office automatically integrates these fonts, making it incredibly simple to type, format, and share professional Chinese documents.
- 1. Install WPS Office: Download and install the free WPS Office suite from the official website.
- 2. Open a Document: Launch WPS Writer or Spreadsheets and open an existing document or create a new blank one.
- 3. Switch Language Input: Use your Windows taskbar language icon or press 'Windows key + Spacebar' to switch to the Chinese Pinyin input method.
- 4. Select Chinese Font: Type your text, highlight it, and navigate to the 'Home' tab. Choose a standard Chinese font like 'SimSun' or 'Microsoft YaHei' from the font dropdown list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my Chinese characters displaying as square boxes?
This usually happens when your system lacks the appropriate Chinese fonts to render the characters. Installing the Chinese language pack in Windows Settings will resolve this by downloading the necessary display fonts.
What are the most common Chinese fonts for professional documents?
For Simplified Chinese, 'Microsoft YaHei' (sans-serif) is highly readable for screens, while 'SimSun' (serif) is standard for printed documents. For Traditional Chinese, 'Microsoft JhengHei' and 'MingLiU' are widely used.
Can I embed Chinese fonts in my document to share with others?
Yes. If the recipient does not have Chinese fonts installed, you can go to File > Options > Save, and check the box for 'Embed fonts in the file'. This ensures the document looks exactly as intended when opened on another computer.
