Free tool
Chinese Text Image Generator
Type Chinese text, see it rendered in a range of authentic Chinese typefaces from brush calligraphy to modern sans, and download the version you like as a transparent, high-resolution image.
About this tool
Chinese characters are a design problem as much as a language one. The same two characters look scholarly in a Song serif, warm and handwritten in a running-script brush font, and blunt and modern in a geometric sans. If you are putting Chinese on a poster, a slide, a tattoo reference or a product mock-up, the typeface does a great deal of the work.
The catch is that most people do not have Chinese fonts installed, and the ones that ship with an operating system are the least interesting choices available. Screenshotting text out of a document gives you a low-resolution image with the wrong background.
This generator renders your text server-side in a curated set of Chinese typefaces, shows you every one of them, and hands back a clean high-resolution image you can drop straight into a design.
What it does
Three authentic typefaces
A Song serif, a running-script brush and a textbook Kai face are rendered side by side so you can compare the same characters before choosing.
Automatic coverage checking
Not every Chinese font contains every character. Fonts that cannot render your exact text are filtered out, so you never download an image full of tofu boxes.
High-resolution output
Images are rendered large enough for print, not just for screens, so a character stays crisp when it is blown up on a poster.
One-click download
Download the selected rendering as a PNG named after the text it contains.
Copy the text back out
Copy the original characters to your clipboard so you can paste them into a document alongside the image.
Works with any length
A single character for a seal, a four-character idiom for a scroll, or a whole phrase for a banner.
How to use it
- 1Enter your Chinese textType or paste the characters you want rendered. Short phrases work best — one to eight characters is the sweet spot for display use.
- 2Browse the typefacesEvery supported font is rendered as a thumbnail. Click one to see it full size.
- 3Pick the style that fitsBrush scripts suit traditional and decorative contexts; clean sans faces suit interfaces and modern branding.
- 4Download the imageSave the PNG and drop it into your design, slide deck or print layout.
What people use it for
- Posters, scrolls and wall art using idioms or single characters
- Tattoo references, where getting the stroke shapes right matters enormously
- Slide decks and title cards that need Chinese text without installing fonts
- Logo and brand exploration in Chinese
- Flashcards and classroom material with large, clear characters
Frequently asked questions
Why do some fonts not appear for my text?
Chinese fonts vary hugely in how many characters they cover. A display or calligraphy font might only include a few thousand common characters, so a rare surname or a technical term will be missing. The tool checks coverage before rendering and hides any font that cannot draw every character in your text.
Can I use the images commercially?
The images are yours to use, but the fonts themselves carry their own licences. For commercial print work — packaging, advertising, a product logo — check the licence of the specific typeface before shipping. For personal projects, study material and internal presentations this is not a concern.
What resolution are the images?
Characters are rendered at a large point size, which gives you an image suitable for screen use and for most print sizes. For very large format work, render a single character at a time rather than a long phrase so each glyph gets the full pixel budget.
Should I use simplified or traditional characters?
It depends on the audience. Mainland China and Singapore use simplified; Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau use traditional. For decorative and calligraphic work, traditional forms are often preferred because the brush scripts were designed around them. Type whichever set you want — both render.
I want a tattoo. What should I check?
Two things, and neither is about the font. First, confirm the meaning with someone who actually reads Chinese, because a plausible-looking phrase can be nonsense or unintentionally comic. Second, confirm the stroke order and stroke count are correct in the rendering you take to the artist — a missing stroke turns one character into a different one, or into nothing at all.
Can I change the colour or background?
The generator produces black text on a clean background so it drops into a layout cleanly. Recolouring is a one-step operation in any image editor, and keeping the source neutral gives you the most flexibility.
Guides and further reading
In-depth articles covering the background behind this tool.
Other Chinese tools
Last reviewed