Definition

Relating to a writing system that uses symbols or characters to represent words or phrases instead of individual sounds.

Example

Chinese is a logographic language, where each character represents a word or a meaningful part of a word.

Conversation

Have you ever seen a logographic writing system like Chinese characters?

Yeah, it's fascinating how they use symbols instead of an alphabet.

I think understanding a logographic language would be really challenging.

Definitely, but it also seems like a beautiful way to communicate.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Logographic → It is formed from "logo-" (from Greek "logos", meaning word or reason) and "-graphic" (from Greek "graphia", meaning writing). The word describes a system of writing that uses symbols to represent words or phrases rather than sounds.

Memory Tip

Think of 'logos' meaning 'word' and 'graphia' meaning 'writing' — logographic refers to writing that represents words directly.

Visually Confused Words