Logogram

In a <a href="/facts/Written_language/QQ5DlfoK">written language</a>, a logogram (from <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek/LIK7NlUh">Ancient Greek</a> logos 'word', and gramma 'that which is drawn or written'), also logograph or lexigraph, is a <a href="/facts/Written_character/uzXGIsAr">written character</a> that represents a <a href="/facts/Semantic/1L4WwLAP">semantic</a> component of a language, such as a <a href="/facts/Word/sD4KyoLF">word</a> or <a href="/facts/Morpheme/4JNcPMHs">morpheme</a>. <a href="/facts/Chinese_characters/5pn1PFvj">Chinese characters</a> as used in <a href="/facts/Written_Chinese/F3QbQvtk">Chinese</a> as well as other languages are logograms, as are <a href="/facts/Egyptian_hieroglyphs/qXRpprLe">Egyptian hieroglyphs</a> and characters in <a href="/facts/Cuneiform_script/MgIQoGu8">cuneiform script</a>. A <a href="/facts/Writing_system/ABG251A0">writing system</a> that primarily uses logograms is called a logography. Non-logographic writing systems, such as <a href="/facts/Alphabet/vqfRpS3E">alphabets</a> and <a href="/facts/Syllabaries/GCbFXaJ4">syllabaries</a>, are phonemic: their individual symbols represent sounds directly and lack any inherent meaning. However, all known logographies have some phonetic component, generally based on the <a href="/facts/Rebus_principle/mXc8uR8I">rebus principle</a>, and the addition of a phonetic component to pure <a href="/facts/Ideographs/7NvclbIG">ideographs</a> is considered to be a key innovation in enabling the writing system to adequately encode human language.

Logogram open-in-new

Logogram