The legibility threshold of Chinese characters in three-type styles

Abstract

A recognition test was conducted on the most commonly used Chinese characters in the Ming, Kai, and Li styles, measuring the minimum visible size of each character in each style. A total of 120 college students participated in the experiment. Each character was initially displayed on a PC screen at its minimum size and enlarged gradually until the participant could recognize it. Analysis of variance showed that character style and number of strokes both have a significant impact on the legibility threshold. Ming is the most legible among the three styles, and Kai is also significantly more legible than the Li style. A regression equation for predicting the legibility threshold based on the number of strokes in a character indicates that an inclusion of an additional stroke in a character must be compensated for by an enlargement of the character size of approximately 0.25 min of arc to maintain the same legibility. Relevance to industry The minimum visible size of the most commonly used Chinese characters was measured to determine the legibility thresholds with respect to three type styles. The results could be used in determining the optimal size and appropriate font for presenting textual information in Chinese.