Which Chinese fonts are you using?

[youpii]

There are so many fonts around on many websites like this one:

http://www.xfbbs.com/Font/

Which font families do you prefer?

[Hofmann]

None from there. (Is that site even legal?) Most of mine are from 華康.

It depends on the context. Naturally I prefer sans-serif on screen. I recommend Microsoft Jhenghei, although I find it a bit too light. On paper I use MingLiU v5.something, which is preinstalled with Vista. For Kai style, I use DFKai-SB which is also preinstalled with Vista.

Then there are some other instances where I would use something else, but whatever.

You got a reason for asking?

[crjcrj]

SimHei

I am a beginner at reading and writing... and as a result I like very a clear font to see the details ... SimHei which seems to come with Windows is perfect for me... I often type in more complicated characters and then print them in a large size before writing them over and over and over again... Very clear and easy to read for a basic beginner like me.

[youpii]

I've been using AR PL KaitiM GB for years, because it looked like the font in my text book

Maybe it's time for me to move on...

[scott-chen]

I am Chinese. Mostly, we use "宋体,仿宋体, 黑体,楷体" I have to say that some fonts are beautiful or even like a painting, but it is kind of weird. We don't really use that!

[Slimm]

If you're looking for something a little fancier on Mac OS try BiauKai. Works great for full-form characters. And it comes packed with OS 10.5.

[jinhr]

I agree with scott-chen. I am a Chinese, too. I work in IT industry for over 10 years. The only font I use is Song (宋体).

Reason? It is simple and elegant. Microsoft Windows used it as default font (so every single computer has it, just like Arial or Time New Roman for English). There is no compatibility problem.

Though Hei (黑体) is included by default by Microsoft, I seldom use it. Usually, it's only for headerline. It looks messy if you decrease its font.

[greenmoon55]

宋体 is formal and it's the default font for Chinese in Microsoft Windows XP or below. The new font in Vista is a little better, but for small size it isn't so good.

宋体 is also widely used in published books. 黑体 is for titles and 仿宋 is for quoted texts or related infomation (not the main passage).