Logogram

A logogram is a written character representing an entire word or morpheme, rather than a single sound (phoneme) or syllable. Unlike alphabets, which use individual letters to build words, or syllabaries, which represent syllables, logograms offer a direct mapping from character to meaning. Their complexity can vary, from simple symbols to highly intricate designs. This system often requires a large number of characters to cover a language's vocabulary, demanding significant memorization and familiarity with character usage in context for accurate understanding.

Logogram meaning with examples

• In Mandarin Chinese, characters like "人" (rén, meaning "person") and "水" (shuǐ, meaning "water") are logograms. The meaning is directly linked to the character itself. Learning these characters requires memorization and understanding the nuances in their usage for different contexts.
• Japanese utilizes kanji, adopted logograms from Chinese, alongside syllabic scripts. For example, the character "本" (hon) can mean "book" or "origin". Successfully reading Japanese necessitates a broad understanding of these characters.
• Egyptian hieroglyphs, although possessing phonetic elements, primarily functioned as logograms. A picture of an eye could represent both the concept of an eye and, in some instances, part of a word phonetically. Understanding context was critical.
• Sumerian cuneiform used early logograms, with each character representing a word or idea. Over time, phonetic elements were incorporated to form a more complex writing system. These examples highlight logograms' impact.