ideogram
/'idiougræm/ Cách viết khác : (ideograph) /'idiougrɑ:f/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A written symbol that represents an idea or concept directly, rather than a particular word or sound: An ideogram is a graphic character used in some writing systems where the symbol itself conveys its meaning, independent of pronunciation. It stands for an idea or object directly.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- Many ancient civilizations used ideograms in their early writing systems.
- The Chinese character for "sun" (日) is a classic example of an ideogram.
- Linguists study how ideograms differ from alphabetic letters.
Advanced Usage
- In linguistic typology: The term "ideogram" is often used in contrast with "logogram" (a written character representing a word) and "phonogram" (a character representing a sound). While sometimes used interchangeably with "logogram" in non-technical contexts, in precise terminology, an ideogram represents an idea more abstractly.
- The distinction between a pure ideogram and a logogram can be subtle in modern Chinese script.
Variants and Related Words
- Ideograph (n): A synonym for ideogram.
- The term "ideograph" is often used interchangeably with "ideogram".
- Logogram (n): A written character that represents a word or morpheme.
- The dollar sign ($) is a logogram, not an ideogram.
- Pictogram (n): A pictorial symbol for a word or phrase; often a precursor to ideograms.
- Early cave paintings contained pictograms that evolved into more abstract ideograms.
Synonyms
- Symbol: A mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process.
- Character: A printed or written letter or symbol.
- Glyph: A hieroglyphic character or symbol; a sculptured symbol.
Related Phrases
- Ideographic writing: A writing system that uses ideograms as a primary component.
- Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs included both ideographic and phonetic elements.
Related Idioms
Noun
- a graphic character that indicates the meaning of a thing without indicating the sounds used to say it
- Chinese characters are ideograms