Zen Old Mincho
Zen Old Mincho is a serif font in 5 weights. Its lowercase letters are 8% narrower than the typical serif font. Last updated 2 September 2025.
Editing a PDF that uses Zen Old Mincho
Most PDFs embed only the letters they already use. Type a new letter and many editors either refuse or swap in a different font. MythosPDF recognises Zen Old Mincho from the widths stored in your PDF, loads the complete open font, and sets your new text in Zen Old Mincho itself. The rest of the page is carried over untouched.
Measured metrics
| Average lowercase letter width | 475.1 units per 1000 em |
|---|---|
| Average capital letter width | 704.5 units per 1000 em |
| Word space | 280 units per 1000 em |
| Digits | proportional (digit widths differ) |
| Spacing | proportional |
| Width of i compared with m | 39% |
| Printable ASCII characters covered | 94 of 94 |
| Category | Serif |
Weights and styles
Languages beyond basic Latin
Open fonts closest to Zen Old Mincho
Measured on every printable character both fonts contain. A smaller difference means the same words take the same space, so lines break in the same places.
- Old Standard TT Regularloosely similar widths (37.5 units)
- Zen Antique Regularloosely similar widths (37.6 units)
- Zen Antique Soft Regularloosely similar widths (37.6 units)
- Nuosu SIL Regularloosely similar widths (51.6 units)
- Marmelad Regularloosely similar widths (57.2 units)
- Tai Heritage Pro Regularloosely similar widths (57.6 units)
- Redaction 35 Regularloosely similar widths (58.7 units)
- Charis SIL Regularloosely similar widths (59.7 units)
Compare Zen Old Mincho
Questions people ask
+Can I edit a PDF that uses Zen Old Mincho?
Yes. Drop the PDF into MythosPDF and click the text. New letters are set in Zen Old Mincho itself, loaded from the open font, so the edit matches the rest of the page.
+Is Zen Old Mincho free to use?
Zen Old Mincho is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, an open licence that allows free use in documents, including commercial ones. Check the licence text for your exact use.
+Which font is closest to Zen Old Mincho?
By measured letter widths, Old Standard TT is the closest match among open fonts (a mean difference of 37.5 units per 1000 em). Text set in one takes almost the same space in the other.
+Which languages does Zen Old Mincho support?
It includes these character sets: Cyrillic, Greek, Japanese, Latin, Central European.
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