Noto Serif JP
Noto Serif JP (Noto Serif Japanese) is a free Mincho font for Japanese by Google, on Google Fonts since 2018. It draws 13,374 kanji and the kana, and the English alphabet, in 8 weights, 200–900. The same design as Adobe's Source Han Serif JP, which Adobe and Google drew together.
あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
01 / Characters
Hiragana, katakana and kanji
The characters Japanese readers learn first, set in Noto Serif JP.
Hiragana ひらがな
Each with its sound
- あa
- いi
- うu
- えe
- おo
- かka
- きki
- くku
- けke
- こko
- さsa
- しshi
- すsu
- せse
- そso
- たta
- ちchi
- つtsu
- てte
- とto
- なna
- にni
- ぬnu
- ねne
- のno
- はha
- ひhi
- ふfu
- へhe
- ほho
- まma
- みmi
- むmu
- めme
- もmo
- やya
- ゆyu
- よyo
- らra
- りri
- るru
- れre
- ろro
- わwa
- をwo
- んn
Katakana カタカナ
Each with its sound
- アa
- イi
- ウu
- エe
- オo
- カka
- キki
- クku
- ケke
- コko
- サsa
- シshi
- スsu
- セse
- ソso
- タta
- チchi
- ツtsu
- テte
- トto
- ナna
- ニni
- ヌnu
- ネne
- ノno
- ハha
- ヒhi
- フfu
- ヘhe
- ホho
- マma
- ミmi
- ムmu
- メme
- モmo
- ヤya
- ユyu
- ヨyo
- ラra
- リri
- ルru
- レre
- ロro
- ワwa
- ヲwo
- ンn
Kanji 漢字
Each with its meaning
- 永eternity
- 日sun
- 月moon
- 火fire
- 水water
- 木tree
- 金gold
- 土earth
- 山mountain
- 川river
- 雨rain
- 花flower
- 空sky
- 海sea
- 風wind
- 森forest
- 夢dream
- 愛love
- 心heart
- 道way
- 書write
- 字letter
- 光light
- 春spring
- 夏summer
- 秋autumn
- 冬winter
- 東east
- 京capital
- 語language
02 / Text
As running text
The opening of Miyazawa Kenji’s The Polano Square.
あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風、夏でも底に冷たさをもつ青いそら、うつくしい森で飾られたモリーオ市、郊外のぎらぎらひかる草の波。
あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風、夏でも底に冷たさをもつ青いそら、うつくしい森で飾られたモリーオ市、郊外のぎらぎらひかる草の波。
あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風、夏でも底に冷たさをもつ青いそら、うつくしい森で飾られたモリーオ市、郊外のぎらぎらひかる草の波。
03 / Weights
8 weights
200–900 · one variable file
- ExtraLight · 200あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Light · 300あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Regular · 400あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Medium · 500あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- SemiBold · 600あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Bold · 700あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- ExtraBold · 800あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Black · 900あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
04 / Facts
What it covers
- Kanji
- 13,374
- More than the 6,355 of JIS levels 1 and 2, the standard set
- Kana
- 189
- Hiragana and katakana, with their voiced and small forms
- Weights
- 8
- 200–900, in one variable file
- Vertical text
- Yes
- Vertical forms of its own, OpenType’s vert
- Font file
- 12.9 MB
- Its variable file: Google serves it in slices
- Licence
- OFL 1.1
- Free for commercial use
Designed by Google. On Google Fonts since 2018, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.
LatinIt draws the English alphabet too, as in its name:Noto Serif JPFonts with Latin like it →
06 / Questions
Questions about Noto Serif JP
Answered from its licence and its font file, and each app’s own font list
Is Noto Serif JP free for commercial use?
Yes. Noto Serif JP is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 , which allows commercial use at any scale: print, websites, apps, videos and logos, for clients and in products. What it forbids is selling the font file on its own.
How do I download and install Noto Serif JP?
FontKind doesn’t host Noto Serif JP’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file: it holds one variable file for every weight, and a static folder with a file per weight: install one set or the other, not both. On Windows or a Mac, double-click each font file and choose Install, then restart any app that was open.
Does Noto Serif JP have kanji?
Yes: Noto Serif JP draws 13,374 kanji, with the hiragana and katakana. That is more than the 6,355 of JIS levels 1 and 2, the standard set for Japanese text.
How do I use Noto Serif JP on a website?
Through Google Fonts: its stylesheet cuts Noto Serif JP into about a hundred small files by character, and a browser downloads only those holding the characters a page shows, never the whole 12.9 MB variable file. To host it yourself, cut it down to the characters your pages use, a step called subsetting, and serve it as WOFF2: the SIL Open Font License allows that, and as Noto Serif JP reserves no name, your copy may keep it.
Can Noto Serif JP set vertical text?
Yes: Noto Serif JP’s file has vertical forms, the OpenType vert feature, so in a vertical line its commas, full stops and brackets, and its small kana, turn and move as they should. On a web page, CSS writing-mode: vertical-rl sets a block vertically; Word, InDesign and Illustrator have vertical text of their own.
Can I use Noto Serif JP in a game or an app?
Yes. The SIL Open Font License lets you build Noto Serif JP into a game, an app or an e-book, sold or free, with no separate licence to buy, as many paid fonts require. Ship its licence with the font files, and don’t sell the font on its own.
Is Noto Serif JP in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Noto Serif JP isn’t one of Microsoft 365’s cloud fonts. Installed, it is in Word’s font menu and PowerPoint’s. On Windows, its weights beyond Regular and Bold show as fonts of their own, such as Noto Serif JP ExtraLight and Noto Serif JP Black. For someone who hasn’t installed it, turn on Embed fonts in the file in Word’s save options: its licence allows that.
Is Noto Serif JP in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Noto Serif JP under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Noto Serif JP in Figma?
Yes: Noto Serif JP is in Figma’s font menu with all eight weights, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.
How many weights does Noto Serif JP have?
Noto Serif JP comes in eight weights, from ExtraLight (200) to Black (900). Its file is variable: it takes any weight from 200 to 900.
Does Noto Serif JP have English letters?
Yes: Noto Serif JP draws all 52 letters of the English alphabet, so a line that mixes Japanese and English can stay in one font.
Who designed Noto Serif JP?
Noto Serif JP was designed by Google. It has been on Google Fonts since August 2018.
What fonts are similar to Noto Serif JP?
The most used Japanese Mincho fonts besides Noto Serif JP are Shippori Mincho, Sawarabi Mincho and Zen Old Mincho. See every Mincho font for Japanese.