# drawText

[Built-ins](README.md)

Canonical ID: `graphics.text`. Nederlands: `tekenTekst`.

Draws Text at a logical-pixel anchor using a positive size. Optional font is sans or pixel; optional alignment is left, center, or right. Names ignore letter case and surrounding whitespace. The x coordinate is the selected horizontal anchor; y is the top of the line box. The pinned fonts are embedded in graphical builds. Only the color argument is normalized as a color, never the displayed content.

## Signature

```text
drawText(x, y, content, size, color)
drawText(x, y, content, size, color, font)
drawText(x, y, content, size, color, font, align)
```

## Arguments

| Parameter | Type | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| `x` | Number | Finite horizontal coordinate in logical pixels. |
| `y` | Number | Finite vertical coordinate in logical pixels. |
| `content` | Text | Text to display; convert numbers explicitly. |
| `size` | Number | Finite and greater than 0. |
| `color` | Text | Nonempty; use portable English/Dutch names or #RGB/#RRGGBB. |
| `font` | Text, optional | "sans" (default) or "pixel". |
| `align` | Text, optional | "left" (default), "center", or "right"; supply font first. |

## Return value

`None`.

## Example

```pliro
# language: en
clearCanvas("black")
drawText(320, 100, "Pliro", 36, "wit", "pixel", "center")
drawText(320, 160, "Score: " + text(12), 20, "yellow", "sans", "center")
```

Two centered text labels.

## Notes and common mistakes

Use the function name for your source language. Its [canonical ID](../concepts/canonical-identity.md) is a shared documentation label; you do not type that ID as a call. Giving your own variable or function the same name can hide the built-in. Supply the documented [arguments](../concepts/parameters-and-arguments.md) and value types. Pliro reports mismatches when checking can detect them, or when the call runs.

A **host** is the app or environment running your program. To see a drawing, it needs a **renderer**, the part that draws on screen. The [command-line](../concepts/command-line.md) command `pliro run` shows text but does not draw these graphics. The [host support table](../guides/hosts.md) explains which effects work in the IDE, browser, native app, and phone preview. A native build reports an unsupported capability instead of leaving it out.

2D uses a 640 × 360 scene with a top-left origin, +X right and +Y down. Both English and Dutch portable color names work in either syntax locale, as do #RGB and #RRGGBB. Other nonempty 2D color text is host-dependent.

## Related entries

[clearCanvas](clearCanvas.md) · [rectangle](rectangle.md) · [circle](circle.md) · [drawLine](drawLine.md) · [Programming guides](../guides/graphics.md) · [Host support](../guides/hosts.md) · [Calls and arguments](../syntax/calls.md)