ideogram Definition
- 1a written symbol that represents an idea or object directly, rather than a particular word or speech sound
- 2a symbol or picture representing a thing or an idea, used in some writing systems, such as Chinese
Using ideogram: Examples
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "ideogram" can be used in various situations through the following examples!
Example
The Chinese language uses ideograms to represent words and concepts.
Example
The ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphs, which are a type of ideogram, to write their language.
Example
The peace symbol is an ideogram that represents the concept of peace.
ideogram Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms for ideogram
Phrases with ideogram
a writing system that uses ideograms to represent words and concepts
Example
Chinese and Japanese are examples of languages that use ideographic writing.
a character in some writing systems that is made up of two or more ideograms
Example
The Chinese character for 'love' is an ideogrammic compound made up of the characters for 'heart' and 'friendship.'
a principle of using pictures or symbols to represent words or parts of words, often used in puzzles or word games
Example
The phrase 'I can read' can be represented by a picture of an eye, a can, and a book, using the rebus principle.
Origins of ideogram
from Greek 'idein', meaning 'to see' + 'graphein', meaning 'to write'
Summary: ideogram in Brief
An 'ideogram' [ahy-dee-uh-gram, id-ee-] is a written symbol that represents an idea or object directly, rather than a particular word or speech sound. It is used in some writing systems, such as Chinese, and can be combined to form ideogrammic compounds. The rebus principle is a related concept that uses pictures or symbols to represent words or parts of words.
