Thai font · FREE
Purisa
Information verified as of July 2026
How to install & use
- Windows — Download the .zip, unzip it, then right-click the .ttf/.otf file → “Install”.
- macOS — Double-click the .ttf/.otf file, then click “Install Font” in Font Book.
- Web — Self-host the font files and declare them with @font-face in your CSS.
Preview Purisa
Purisa is a foundry/desktop font, so it can’t be embedded as a free webfont for a live preview here. See the specimen above for the real letterforms, or load your own text into the Thai Font Tester to compare it against the free Google Fonts alternatives.
What Purisa is
Purisa is a free, GPL-licensed casual handwritten Thai face by Poonlap Veerathanabutr, distributed as part of the TLWG National Fonts package. It brings an informal, hand-drawn tone to the otherwise document-focused National Fonts, and it is free to download and redistribute.
According to Wikipedia’s National Fonts entry, Purisa carries the copyright “Poonlap Veerathanabutr, 2003, 2004” and is released under the GNU GPL by the Thai Linux Working Group. It is the informal, personality-forward member of the free National set — the one you reach for when a layout should feel handwritten rather than typeset.
For designers browsing the ThaiGraph font library, Purisa fills the casual-script slot in the free Thai catalogue, a role otherwise dominated by newer OFL faces.
Character design and tone
Purisa is a looped (มีหัว) Thai face drawn in a relaxed, casual hand — irregular strokes, a friendly bounce and terminals that read as pen-made rather than mechanical. The tone is informal and warm, closer to a marker or ballpoint than to a formal type design.
The looped consonant heads on ก, ถ and ภ keep the traditional Thai structure explained in our Thai typography guide, but the strokes wobble just enough to signal a human hand. That casual quality is the whole point: Purisa is for warmth, not precision.
The Latin companion follows the same relaxed, handwritten logic, so bilingual settings keep a consistent informal voice across both scripts.
Weights and availability
Purisa ships Regular and Bold, each with an oblique companion — four TrueType files in total — and is free to download. Get it from the Thai Font Collection on GitHub, packaged with the rest of the TLWG National Fonts.
The font is not on Google Fonts, but it is bundled in the fonts-tlwg package and installed on most Linux systems, making it a readily available free handwritten Thai option.
Best use cases
Purisa is the right choice when a Thai layout needs a free, informal, hand-drawn voice. Strong briefs:
- Children’s materials, worksheets and educational content wanting a friendly tone
- Casual invitations, greeting cards and personal notes
- Community, school and non-profit design that should feel human and approachable
- Craft, market and homemade-product labels with a handmade feel
- Annotations and callouts that need to read as handwritten within a document
Where it doesn’t fit: body text at length (the casual strokes tire the eye), and formal or corporate work — for those, a document face like Sarabun is the correct tool.
Pairings
Purisa works as a display or accent hand over a neutral Thai body face. Three pairings:
- Sarabun — OFL body sans to carry paragraphs while Purisa handles headings and notes
- TH Sarabun New — the standard Thai document face for the serious text around a casual title
- Itim — an OFL casual-handwritten Thai alternative if you want a webfont build
Licensing
Purisa is free software by Poonlap Veerathanabutr, released under the GNU General Public License and distributed by TLWG, so it is free to use, modify and redistribute. Verify the terms in the fonts-tlwg licence file and download from the Thai Font Collection. For a modern SIL OFL casual Thai hand with webfont support, see Itim or browse the free fonts category.
Frequently asked questions about Purisa
Is Purisa free for commercial use?
Yes — Purisa is free for both personal and commercial use. You can use it in client work, apps, products, and websites at no cost, and self-host or embed it. The only OFL condition is that you don’t sell the font files on their own.
How many weights does Purisa have?
Purisa ships in 2 weights: Regular, Bold. Pick a heavier weight for display and headlines, and a Regular or lighter weight for body text and long-form reading.
Does Purisa support Latin and English characters?
Yes — Purisa includes a Latin character set alongside Thai, so it can set English and Thai in one typeface. That makes it a practical choice for bilingual branding, packaging, and UI.
Where can I download Purisa?
Get Purisa from TLWG. Use the download/license button at the top of this page for the official source — avoid third-party font sites, which often ship outdated or unlicensed files.
What fonts are similar to Purisa?
The closest alternatives to Purisa are Itim, Sriracha, Mali. They share a similar style and use case, so they’re the first faces to compare if you need a different weight range, license, or price.
Who designed Purisa?
Purisa was designed by Poonlap Veerathanabutr at TLWG, released in 2003. Full designer credit and the primary source are listed at the bottom of this page.
Information verified as of July 2026
Sources
- Purisa is a casual, script-style looped Thai face carrying 'Copyright (C) 2003, 2004 Poonlap Veerathanabutr', released under the GNU GPL and distributed as part of the TLWG National Fonts package.—National Fonts — Wikipedia (accessed Jul 16, 2026)
- Purisa is distributed as a free TrueType family in the Thai Font Collection, shipping Regular, Bold, Oblique and Bold Oblique styles.—Thai Font Collection (jeffmcneill) — nectec-tlwg folder (accessed Jul 16, 2026)