Script Subtags (Hans vs Hant) — Distinguishing Writing Systems

Script Subtags in BCP 47

Script subtags identify the writing system used for a language. They are defined by ISO 15924 and are four letters long, with the first letter capitalized.

When Script Subtags Are Needed

Script subtags are necessary when:

1. A language is written in multiple scripts (Chinese, Serbian, Azerbaijani)
2. You need to distinguish content that differs only by script
3. Font selection depends on the script

Common Script Subtags

Subtag	Script	Used For
Hans	Simplified Chinese	zh-Hans
Hant	Traditional Chinese	zh-Hant
Latn	Latin	sr-Latn (Serbian Latin)
Cyrl	Cyrillic	sr-Cyrl (Serbian Cyrillic)
Arab	Arabic	pa-Arab (Punjabi in Shahmukhi)
Guru	Gurmukhi	pa-Guru (Punjabi in Gurmukhi)
Deva	Devanagari	hi-Deva (Hindi)
Jpan	Japanese	(kanji + kana combined)
Kore	Korean	(Hangul + Hanja combined)

Chinese Script Distinction

The most common use of script subtags is distinguishing Simplified and Traditional Chinese:

zh-Hans    → Simplified Chinese (any region)
zh-Hant    → Traditional Chinese (any region)
zh-Hans-CN → Simplified Chinese, China
zh-Hant-TW → Traditional Chinese, Taiwan
zh-Hant-HK → Traditional Chinese, Hong Kong

Why not just use region? Because the script is the primary differentiator. Content for zh-TW and zh-HK both use Traditional Chinese, but they may have regional vocabulary differences. Using zh-Hant as the base ensures correct font and character selection.

Serbian: Two Scripts in Active Use

Serbian is unique in that both Cyrillic and Latin scripts are in daily use:

sr-Cyrl    → Serbian in Cyrillic (Српски)
sr-Latn    → Serbian in Latin (Srpski)
sr-Cyrl-RS → Serbian Cyrillic, Serbia
sr-Latn-RS → Serbian Latin, Serbia

Azerbaijani: Three Scripts

Azerbaijani has historically used Arabic, Cyrillic, and Latin scripts:

az-Latn → Azerbaijani in Latin (modern standard in Azerbaijan)
az-Cyrl → Azerbaijani in Cyrillic (used in Dagestan, Russia)
az-Arab → Azerbaijani in Arabic (used in Iran)

Suppress-Script

Some language-script combinations are so default that the script subtag is "suppressed" — meaning it should be omitted. For example, en-Latn is redundant because English is always written in Latin script. Use just en.