# Charis SIL font

> A sturdy text serif from SIL International with 3,549 glyphs for Latin- and Cyrillic-script languages.

Charis SIL is a serif family from SIL International, built to serve languages written in the Latin and Cyrillic scripts, including those that need rare diacritics and linguistic symbols. Charis SIL has Regular and Bold weights with italics, four styles in total, and 3,549 glyphs. It is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and suits books and dictionaries.

## Facts

- Classification: [Serif](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/serif)
- Designed by: SIL International
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 4 (Regular 400, Bold 700; with italics)
- Variable font: No
- Glyphs: 3549
- Character sets: cyrillic, cyrillic-ext, latin, latin-ext, vietnamese
- Last updated: 2025-05-30
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Charis+SIL
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/charis-sil
- Tagged for: Body text, Editorial

## About Charis SIL

Charis SIL is a serif family whose purpose is breadth of language coverage. The project aims to provide a font for every current language and writing system that uses the Latin or Cyrillic script, and each font holds 3,549 glyphs: letters, a wide range of diacritics and many symbols used in linguistics and literacy work. Smart font routines place diacritics automatically, so a base letter can take marks in combinations that were never drawn as single characters. The specimen shows a sturdy design with low contrast, a large lowercase and solid bracketed serifs. The four styles are Regular, Italic, Bold and Bold Italic; Charis SIL is not a variable font. SIL International is the designer of record, and the license is the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright (c) 1997-2022 SIL International (http://www.sil.org/) with Reserved Font Names "Charis" and "SIL".

Allowed:
- Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps.
- Modify the fonts and build new versions from them.
- Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them.

Conditions:
- The fonts cannot be sold by themselves.
- A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission.
- The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission.

Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/

## Where it works

- **Dictionaries and grammars**: Phonetic and linguistic symbols sit in the same font as the text, so transcriptions match the surrounding words.
- **Publishing in languages with rare diacritics**: Automatic mark positioning handles stacked and unusual accents that many fonts lack.
- **Literacy and school materials**: Sturdy, low-contrast letters with a large lowercase keep primers and readers clear at text sizes.
- **Books that mix Latin and Cyrillic**: Both scripts share one design in Regular, Bold and their italics.

## Things to know

- **Two weights**: Charis SIL has Regular 400 and Bold 700 with italics; lighter or intermediate weights are not in this family.
- **Large files**: Each of the four TTF files carries 3,549 glyphs, and together they take about 3 MB.
- **Reserved Font Names**: The copyright notice reserves the names Charis and SIL, so a modified version must be released under a different name unless permission is given.

## FAQs

### Is Charis SIL free for commercial use?

Yes. Charis SIL is licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1: use in personal and commercial work, modification and redistribution are allowed. The fonts cannot be sold on their own, a modified version keeps the same license and may not use a Reserved Font Name without permission.

### Who designed Charis SIL?

Charis SIL is developed by SIL International. The font's name table lists a team of twelve contributors.

### Which languages does Charis SIL support?

Charis SIL includes the letters needed for English and other Latin-script languages such as French, German, Turkish, Polish and Vietnamese, as well as Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian. The project's stated aim is to cover all current languages written in Latin or Cyrillic script.

### How many weights does Charis SIL have?

Charis SIL has two weights, Regular 400 and Bold 700, each with an italic.

### Does Charis SIL include phonetic symbols?

Yes. According to the official notes, Charis SIL contains a large set of symbols for linguistics and literacy work, together with a comprehensive range of diacritics.

### Is Charis SIL a variable font?

No. Charis SIL comes as four static files and is not a variable font.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/charis-sil (trendhub)