Free · open licence · v3.0

Semmozhi Brahmi

A free Unicode font for the Brahmi script, with everything Tamil-Brahmi needs: the Old Tamil letters ழ ற ன ள, short எ and ஒ, the Old Tamil pulli, and Brahmi numerals. Use it in Word, Google Docs, websites, posters and designs — anywhere.

Edit the sample above, or convert real text in the Brahmi Lab.

⬇ Download all (.zip)

TTF + WOFF + WOFF2 + licence + README. Recommended.

⬇ TrueType (.ttf)

For installing on Mac, Windows, Linux and for print/design apps.

⬇ Web font (.woff2)

For websites. See the CSS snippet below.

All 115 characters

Click any glyph to copy it. The font covers the whole Unicode Brahmi block (U+11000–1107F) as currently encoded.

Install & use

Mac

Double-click the .ttf → Install Font. Then choose “Semmozhi Brahmi” in any app.

Windows

Right-click the .ttf → Install (or “Install for all users”).

Linux

Copy to ~/.fonts and run fc-cache -f.

Phone / tablet

Use the Brahmi Lab — it loads the font in the page, or download the PNG image from there.

On a website

@font-face {
  font-family: "Semmozhi Brahmi";
  src: url("SemmozhiBrahmi-Regular.woff2") format("woff2"),
       url("SemmozhiBrahmi-Regular.woff") format("woff"),
       url("SemmozhiBrahmi-Regular.ttf")  format("truetype");
  font-display: swap;
}
.brahmi { font-family: "Semmozhi Brahmi", sans-serif; }

Typing Brahmi

Most keyboards can’t type Brahmi directly. Use the Brahmi Lab to convert Tamil (or English letters, Hindi, Telugu…) into Brahmi, then copy and paste it into any app that has this font selected.

Licence

Semmozhi Brahmi is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. You can use it for free, including for commercial work, print, apps and websites. You can share it and change it. You cannot sell the font by itself, and a changed version must keep this licence.

How it was made

Each letter is redrawn as a thin single-line pen stroke. The centre-lines of the strokes follow the letter structures of Noto Sans Brahmi, so the letters match the standard Unicode Brahmi alphabet, and our own tool draws them in one uniform monoline style.

Verification status: an automatic check compares the centre-line of each letter with the reference letters. Average agreement is 99.7%, and 799 of 835 characters and syllables agree 99% or more; the rest are mostly single dots and digits, and the weakest is the candrabindu dot (48%). This checks our letters against the reference font, not against inscriptions or manuscripts, and no expert has reviewed it yet. All four Semmozhi fonts share one pen style: same stroke weight, smooth curves and tapered ends. Use it for learning, names, art and design, not as an exact copy of one inscription.