Logogram 語素文字 (语素文字)

yǔsù wénzì · from Greek

What is a logogram?

A logogram is a written sign that represents a word or meaningful unit rather than a sound, like a Chinese character or the digit 7.

Chinese characters are the best-known logographic system, though linguists often prefer morphosyllabic or logosyllabic because most characters also carry sound clues. Japanese kanji and Korean hanja are logograms borrowed from Chinese. Everyday logograms in alphabetic languages include digits, & and @.

Examples

山 shān (mountain); 木 mù (tree); 人 rén (person); 7 (read seven, sieben or qī)

Kungfucius says: A picture of a mountain that means mountain. Only 3,000 more to go.