Baybayin Fonts: Where to Find Them and How to Use Them
Updated: Oct 5
If you have ever tried to put Baybayin on a shirt, a logo or a phone screen, the first thing you need is a good Baybayin font. A font turns letters you type into the shapes of the pre-colonial Tagalog script, so you can write names, words and phrases without drawing every character by hand.
How Baybayin fonts work
There are two kinds of Baybayin fonts, and knowing the difference saves a lot of frustration:
Unicode fonts use the official Tagalog block in Unicode, so the text stays real Baybayin text. You can copy it, paste it into a post, and it still reads correctly on any device that has a Baybayin font installed.
Mapped (Latin) fonts swap the English keys for Baybayin shapes. You type "ka" and see the Baybayin ka, but underneath it is still English letters. These are great for design work, but the text turns back into English the moment someone changes the font.
For websites and social posts, use a Unicode font. For posters, shirts and logos, either type works because you export the final design as an image.
Where to find Baybayin fonts
Noto Sans Tagalog by Google is a clean, free Unicode font that works on most phones and computers.
Classic hand-drawn styles, inspired by old Spanish-era documents, give a historical feel. We cover them in Traditional Baybayin Fonts.
Custom fonts designed for modern use. See our Block Baybayin Font (BF1) and BOLO Baybayin Font (BF2).
How to type Baybayin
Many Baybayin fonts expect you to type the syllable, not the single letter. Ka is one character, ki and ke share one character with a mark above, and ku and ko share one character with a mark below. To end a word on a consonant you add the virama, the small cross or line that cancels the vowel. Our guide to the virama and kudlit explains it step by step.
Not sure how a name should be spelled first? Run it through the Baybayin Translator, then type the result in your font.
Common font mistakes
Spelling English words letter by letter. Baybayin follows sound, so write the way the word is pronounced in Tagalog.
Forgetting the kudlit. Without the mark above or below, every consonant reads with an "a" sound.
Using a mapped font on a website. Visitors without that exact font will see English letters instead.
See Baybayin fonts in action
Every Learn Baybayin design is titled in Baybayin. Browse the Baybayin collection to see how different letterforms look on hoodies, crewnecks and tees, or join a Baybayin workshop to learn to write it by hand.
Learn it live, then wear it
The fastest way to really learn Baybayin is with a teacher and a group. In the Baybayin Workshop you will learn all 17 characters, the kudlit and the virama, and leave able to write your own name and the names of your family.
Baybayin Character Hoodie: all the characters on one hoodie
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