English

Noun

semantogram ‎(plural semantograms)

1. A symbol used solely for meaning, as when logographic Chinese symbols are used to represent the meaning of native Japanese words.
   • 1978, Herbert Franke and Dennis Twitchett, "Introduction", in The Cambridge History of China , ISBN 0521243319, page 32:

     "the majority of Jurchen signs, which included both semantograms and phonograms, were inventions."

Synonyms

• semantograph
• ideograph

Related terms

• logogram
• phonogram