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React Native Academy · Lesson

Displaying Text and Styling Fonts

Render text with the Text component, apply fontSize, fontWeight, color, and lineHeight styles, and handle multiline content gracefully.

Displaying Text and Styling Fonts is a free React Native Academy lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 2 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the React Native Academy learning path, one of 4 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.

The Text Component Basics

In React Native, every word lives inside a Text component. Loose strings outside one will crash — so Text wraps all the text you show.

import { View, Text } from 'react-native';

export default function Greeting() {
  return (
    <View>
      <Text>Hello, World!</Text>
      {/* This would cause an error: */}
      {/* Hello, World!  ← raw string outside Text */}
    </View>
  );
}

fontSize and fontWeight

Size text with fontSize (a number) and thickness with fontWeight like "bold" or "600". Custom fonts may only have some weights, so test on a real device.

import { Text, View, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';

export default function Typography() {
  return (
    <View style={{ padding: 16 }}>
      <Text style={styles.h1}>Heading 1</Text>
      <Text style={styles.h2}>Heading 2</Text>
      <Text style={styles.body}>Regular body text for paragraphs.</Text>
      <Text style={styles.caption}>Small caption text</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  h1: { fontSize: 32, fontWeight: '700', color: '#111' },
  h2: { fontSize: 24, fontWeight: '600', color: '#333' },
  body: { fontSize: 16, fontWeight: '400', color: '#555', lineHeight: 24 },
  caption: { fontSize: 12, fontWeight: '300', color: '#999' },
});

color and lineHeight

Set the text color with a hex or named value, and use lineHeight to space lines apart. A little breathing room makes longer text far easier to read.

import { Text, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';

export default function Article() {
  return (
    <Text style={styles.paragraph}>
      React Native brings the best parts of mobile development
      together, combining a smooth native experience with the
      speed of JavaScript development.
    </Text>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  paragraph: {
    fontSize: 16,
    color: '#444',
    lineHeight: 26,     // 26/16 = 1.625× line height
    letterSpacing: 0.2, // slight tracking for readability
  },
});

textAlign and Text Decoration

Position text with textAlign (left, center, right) and dress it up with textDecorationLine for underlines or textTransform for uppercase — just like CSS.

import { Text, View, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';

export default function TextStyling() {
  return (
    <View style={{ padding: 16 }}>
      <Text style={styles.centered}>Centered heading</Text>
      <Text style={styles.link}>Tap to visit website</Text>
      <Text style={styles.strikethrough}>Old price: $29.99</Text>
      <Text style={styles.uppercase}>sale ends tonight</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  centered: { textAlign: 'center', fontSize: 20, fontWeight: 'bold' },
  link: { color: '#0066cc', textDecorationLine: 'underline' },
  strikethrough: { textDecorationLine: 'line-through', color: '#999' },
  uppercase: { textTransform: 'uppercase', letterSpacing: 2, fontSize: 14 },
});

Nested Text for Mixed Styles

Nest Text inside Text to mix styles in one line, like a single bold word. Inner Text inherits the parent style and overrides only what you set.

import { Text, View } from 'react-native';

export default function MixedText() {
  return (
    <View style={{ padding: 16 }}>
      <Text style={{ fontSize: 16, color: '#333' }}>
        Welcome back,{' '}
        <Text style={{ fontWeight: 'bold', color: '#0066cc' }}>
          Alice
        </Text>
        ! You have{' '}
        <Text style={{ color: 'red', fontWeight: '600' }}>3</Text>
        {' '}unread messages.
      </Text>
    </View>
  );
}

numberOfLines and ellipsizeMode

Use numberOfLines to cap how many lines show, and ellipsizeMode to add the "..." at the end. Great for list titles that should never wrap forever.

import { Text, View, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';

const longTitle = 'The Complete Guide to Building Production-Ready React Native Applications in 2024';

export default function TruncatedText() {
  return (
    <View style={{ padding: 16 }}>
      <Text numberOfLines={1} ellipsizeMode='tail' style={styles.title}>
        {longTitle}
      </Text>
      <Text numberOfLines={2} ellipsizeMode='tail' style={styles.body}>
        {longTitle}
      </Text>
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  title: { fontSize: 18, fontWeight: 'bold', marginBottom: 8 },
  body: { fontSize: 14, color: '#666' },
});

Loading Custom Fonts with expo-font

Want your own font? Drop a .ttf in assets, then load it with the useFonts hook from expo-font. Wait until it is ready to avoid a flash of plain text.

import { useFonts } from 'expo-font';
import { Text, View } from 'react-native';

export default function App() {
  const [fontsLoaded] = useFonts({
    'Poppins-Regular': require('./assets/fonts/Poppins-Regular.ttf'),
    'Poppins-Bold': require('./assets/fonts/Poppins-Bold.ttf'),
  });

  if (!fontsLoaded) return null; // Show splash or null while loading

  return (
    <View style={{ padding: 24 }}>
      <Text style={{ fontFamily: 'Poppins-Bold', fontSize: 24 }}>
        Custom Font Heading
      </Text>
      <Text style={{ fontFamily: 'Poppins-Regular', fontSize: 16 }}>
        Body text with Poppins Regular.
      </Text>
    </View>
  );
}

Google Fonts with @expo-google-fonts

Even easier: the @expo-google-fonts packages bundle any Google Font for you. Install one, import the hook, and use its name — no manual files needed.

import { useFonts, Inter_400Regular, Inter_700Bold } from '@expo-google-fonts/inter';
import { Text, View } from 'react-native';

export default function App() {
  const [fontsLoaded] = useFonts({
    Inter_400Regular,
    Inter_700Bold,
  });

  if (!fontsLoaded) return null;

  return (
    <View style={{ padding: 24 }}>
      <Text style={{ fontFamily: 'Inter_700Bold', fontSize: 24 }}>
        Inter Bold
      </Text>
      <Text style={{ fontFamily: 'Inter_400Regular', fontSize: 16 }}>
        Inter Regular body text.
      </Text>
    </View>
  );
}

Selectable Text and onPress

By default Text cannot be copied. Add the selectable prop to allow it, or an onPress handler to make a word act like a tappable link.

import { Text, View, Alert } from 'react-native';

export default function InteractiveText() {
  return (
    <View style={{ padding: 16 }}>
      {/* Selectable text (user can copy) */}
      <Text selectable style={{ fontSize: 14, color: '#333', marginBottom: 16 }}>
        Long-press to select and copy this text.
      </Text>

      {/* Tappable text link */}
      <Text
        style={{ color: '#0066cc', fontSize: 16 }}
        onPress={() => Alert.alert('Link tapped!')}
        accessibilityRole='link'
      >
        Terms and Conditions
      </Text>
    </View>
  );
}

Handling Multiline and Long Content

Text wraps on its own when it runs out of room. Inside a flex row, add flexShrink: 1 so a long line shrinks instead of pushing things off screen.

import { Text, View, StyleSheet, ScrollView } from 'react-native';

export default function Article() {
  return (
    <ScrollView contentContainerStyle={{ padding: 16 }}>
      <View style={styles.row}>
        <Text style={styles.label}>Title:</Text>
        {/* flexShrink prevents overflowing the row */}
        <Text style={styles.value} numberOfLines={1}>
          A Very Long Article Title That Would Otherwise Overflow
        </Text>
      </View>
    </ScrollView>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  row: { flexDirection: 'row', alignItems: 'center', gap: 8 },
  label: { fontWeight: 'bold', color: '#333' },
  value: { flexShrink: 1, color: '#666' },
});

Text Accessibility: accessibilityLabel

For screen reader users, add an accessibilityLabel to Text that is not self-explanatory. It helps VoiceOver and TalkBack describe your app clearly.

import { Text, View, TouchableOpacity } from 'react-native';

export default function AccessibleText() {
  return (
    <View>
      {/* Screen reader will say: 'Alice, 5 unread messages' */}
      <View accessible accessibilityLabel='Alice, 5 unread messages'>
        <Text style={{ fontWeight: 'bold' }}>Alice</Text>
        <Text style={{ color: 'red' }}>5</Text>
      </View>

      <TouchableOpacity
        accessibilityLabel='Delete account'
        accessibilityHint='Double tap to permanently delete your account'
      >
        <Text style={{ color: 'red' }}>Delete</Text>
      </TouchableOpacity>
    </View>
  );
}

Quick Check

Quick check! Lock in what you learned about Text and fonts. ✨

Lesson Recap

Great job! All text lives in Text, fontSize and color shape it, and expo-font makes custom typefaces easy. Next up: showing images.

Frequently asked questions

Is the “Displaying Text and Styling Fonts” lesson free?

Yes — the full text of “Displaying Text and Styling Fonts” is free to read here on the web, and the React Native Academy course includes 4 lessons in total. To practise it interactively (a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor) and unlock the rest of the React Native Academy course, upgrade to CoddyKit PRO.

What will I learn in “Displaying Text and Styling Fonts”?

Render text with the Text component, apply fontSize, fontWeight, color, and lineHeight styles, and handle multiline content gracefully. You practise React Native Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

Do I need any experience to start React Native Academy?

No prior experience is required. React Native Academy on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners; this is — lesson 2 of 4, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.

How long does the “Displaying Text and Styling Fonts” lesson take?

Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.

Can I write and run code in this React Native Academy lesson?

Yes. Every React Native Academy lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.

All lessons in this course

  1. The View Component as a Container
  2. Displaying Text and Styling Fonts
  3. Showing Images from Local and Remote Sources
  4. Composing a Simple Profile Card
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