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Chinese Couplet Maker: Arrange and Print Spring Couplets
Lay out Chinese couplets with vertical characters, a horizontal heading and a diamond square. Choose calligraphic fonts, red paper and gold or black ink, then print on A4, A3 or Letter, or download PNG and outlined SVG sheets.
Chinese Couplet Maker: Arrange and Print Spring Couplets: Your words become two vertical strips with one character in each cell. Add a heading and a diamond square, then fit the whole set on one sheet, spread long strips over overlapping sheets, or print each vertical-line character on its own page. A hint shows the Mandarin tone of each line’s last character. The tool does not write new couplets. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
- Category
- Home & family tools
- Runs
- In your browser
- Cost
- Free · no sign-up
- Availability
- Ready to use
Runs entirely in your browser
Set your own words in red paper and ink. Arrange a pair for the door, then print the pieces at home.
Enter characters without punctuation or spaces. The two vertical lines must have the same number of characters. Words are never generated automatically. Font coverage varies; missing characters are flagged before printing.
Traditional, public-domain lines, attested in these cultural sources. Add a heading of your choice. New Year words and blessings · Couplet traditions
Facing the door: place 上联 on your right and 下联 on your left. Read the heading from right to left, following traditional writing order. Source: Neixiang cultural guidance
Gentle tone hint: the upper line usually ends in 仄 (Mandarin tone 3 or 4), and the lower in 平 (tone 1 or 2). Classical 平仄 uses Middle Chinese tones, so 入声 characters can differ: 福 is tone 2 in Mandarin but historically an entering-tone character. This hint does not judge the whole couplet or stop printing.
The full set shrinks to one sheet. Cut out each piece. The diamond paper is turned 45°, with its characters upright.
Preparing the print preview…
Posting order and traditional examples
The Neixiang government cultural guidance: https://www.neixiang.gov.cn/rwnx/jxqy/2015-03-15/6747.html describes the traditional placement from the viewer’s position: upper line on the right, lower on the left, matching a right-to-left heading. It also describes the modern left-to-right arrangement. Enter the heading in reading order; the tool puts the characters in the chosen visual order.
The same guidance records the traditional lines 爆竹一声除旧 / 桃符万象更新. The traditional pair 天增岁月人增寿 / 春满乾坤福满门 is attested in New Year words and blessings: https://m.ccdi.gov.cn/content/df/32/8276.html. The example buttons load only these established lines; you choose any heading separately.
Mandarin hints and classical tones
The Ministry of Education dictionary entry for 平仄: https://dict.concised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=3355&la=0&powerMode=0 defines level as the Middle Chinese level tone, and oblique as the rising, departing and entering tones. The Sun Yat-sen University discussion of classical tones: https://chinesezh.sysu.edu.cn/zh-hans/node/2292 explains why some entering-tone characters now have Mandarin tones 1 or 2. For example, 福 is now fú, tone 2, but was an entering-tone character.
The hint is a reading aid, not a judgement of the poem. It checks the final characters using a Mandarin pronunciation dictionary and lists alternative readings for polyphonic characters. It does not check parallel grammar, meaning, every character’s tone or historical rhyme categories.
Paper, lettering and assembly
Ma Shan Zheng and Long Cang are calligraphic fonts supplied under the SIL Open Font License. Red paper, flat gold or black ink, a faint cloud border and paper fibres are drawn into the artwork. Printed gold is a flat colour, not metallic foil. The diamond is square paper turned 45 degrees with upright lettering.
Allow for your printer’s colour and margin settings. The tiled layout leaves 12 mm of page margin at the top and bottom. Each following strip segment repeats the chosen overlap; trim the white paper and glue matching bands. Use poster tiler if you already have a finished image to enlarge.
How to use it
- Enter equal-length upper and lower lines, with an optional heading and diamond text, or choose a traditional example.
- Choose the font, colours, heading direction and print layout; review the gentle tone hints.
- Print all sheets, save a PDF in the print dialogue, or download a PNG or SVG sheet and cut out the pieces.
Privacy & limitations
Your text and artwork stay in your browser. Fonts load from this site; nothing is uploaded.
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Frequently asked questions
Which side does the upper line go on?
With the traditional right-to-left heading, put the upper line on your right and the lower on your left as you face the door. This tool also offers a left-to-right heading and places the upper line on the left to match.
What does the tone hint check?
Only the final character of each line. Conventionally the upper ends in an oblique tone and the lower in a level tone. The hint uses Mandarin tones 3 and 4 for oblique, and 1 and 2 for level. Classical tones differ, especially for entering-tone characters, and multiple readings need a human check.
Can I print a long couplet with a small printer?
Choose tiled strips and set a character cell size and 5–20 mm overlap. Trim the white margins, match the overlapping bands, and glue the numbered pieces in order. Print at actual size.
Are the examples generated?
No. The examples are traditional, public-domain couplets attested in the cultural sources below. You can edit them or enter your own words.
How are the files exported?
Download the selected sheet as a PNG or SVG, or all SVG sheets together in a ZIP. SVG letters are outlines, so the fonts do not need to be installed. To save a PDF, use the browser’s print dialogue.
Free tool · runs in your browser · no account required