phonetic script; alphabetic writing
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
phonetic writing system; alphabetic script
formalA writing system in which symbols (e.g., letters) directly represent sounds. Includes alphabets like Latin and Cyrillic, as well as syllabaries like Japanese kana. Contrasts with logographic systems like Chinese characters.
Yīng英
yǔ语
、
é俄
yǔ语
hé和
rì日
yǔ语
jiǎ假
míng名
dōu都
shǔ属
yú于
biǎo表
yīn音
wén文
zì字
。
English, Russian, and Japanese kana all belong to phonetic writing systems.
Zhōng中
wén文
shì是
biǎo表
yì意
wén文
zì字
，
ér而
hán韩
wén文
shì是
biǎo表
yīn音
wén文
zì字
。
Chinese is a logographic writing system, while Korean Hangul is a phonetic script.
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Xué学
xí习
biǎo表
yīn音
wén文
zì字
tōng通
cháng常
bǐ比
xué学
xí习
biǎo表
yì意
wén文
zì字
gèng更
róng容
yì易
rù入
mén门
。
Learning a phonetic script is usually easier to begin with than learning a logographic one.