Sam

How to make your own Zhuyin Chinese bible

There’s a neat trick you can use to add Zhuyin Fuhao (Bopomofo) to your Chinese bible, either on your phone or computer. The solution is to use a custom Chinese font which automatically displays the Zhuyin.

What you need

  1. Download the YouVersion bible app. We need to use this app because it supports choosing your own font within the app itself. It will give you access to CUV, CNV, etc. If you use another bible app, see if it lets you choose custom fonts in its Settings.
  2. Download the Han Wang Ming font (or, if you prefer handwritten style Chinese, Han Wang Kai). These fonts do the work of displaying the Zhuyin/Bopomofo.
  3. (iOS only) Download the iFont app. This is needed to install the custom Zhuyin fonts onto your phone, so that they will appear as an option in the YouVersion bible app. Android doesn’t need this.

Steps to setup (Android)

  1. Download the Han Wang font onto your phone
    You can download it using your browser, or export it from Dropbox, to a folder on your phone (anywhere is fine).
  2. Open YouVersion and add the font.
    1. Select the bible version you want to use this font with (e.g. CUV), then tap the (Aa) button on the top-right. This will display the font settings box.
    2. Tap Add Fonts, then select Custom fonts. Now browse to the font file location on your device and select it. Voila.

Extra Android Notes
On my Android phone, the font display is a bit buggy. Every time I open the app, the font seems to have disappeared. The solution is to tap the font options button again (aA), then close it straight away – no need to actually change anything. This seems to trigger the app to apply the custom font setting and turn it back on. It’s bit of a pain, but still worth it for such easy access to Zhuyin.

Steps to setup (iOS)

  1. Install the iFont app. iOS doesn’t offer a built-in way to install fonts, so you need this app to install the font.
  2. Copy the HanWang font into iFont
    I used Dropbox to manage this. I copied the font file into my Dropbox account, then from within Dropbox: Export > More Actions > Export to iFont. Or you can first open iFont and use the Import option.
  3. Use iFont to install the font. iFont does this by generating a custom iOS Configuration Profile which you need to install on your phone. Tap the big INSTALL button next to your font in iFont to get started. This website has more info (go to Step 6).
  4. Open YouVersion and select the font.
    1. Select the bible version you want to use this font with (e.g. CUV), then tap the (Aa) button on the top-right. This will display the font settings box.
    2. Find your newly installed font and select it. Voila.

iOS Notes
To make this work on iOS, you need to allow the iFont app to install a custom iOS Configuration Profile. This is a potential security risk, so if you are really really worried about security, you might not want to agree.