Písmeno

Písmeno is the Czech word for a single symbol of an alphabet, used to represent a sound or a combination of sounds in a language’s writing system. In general, a písmeno is one of the basic units of written language, and it can be a letter with or without diacritics, or a historical digraph treated as a single letter in a given orthography.

In Czech, the alphabet consists of a set of písmena that includes both standard Latin letters and letters with diacritics, such as á, č, é, ě, í, ž, ř, š, ň, and others. The Czech alphabet has historically recognized the digraph ch as a single písmeno, which affected the total count of letters. Diacritics modify pronunciation and are integral to the identity of many písmena, producing distinct letters such as á or č.

The term písmeno also intersects with linguistic and typographic concepts. A písmeno is a concrete symbol used in writing, while a grapheme is the abstract unit of the written language that a písmeno (or a sequence of písmena) can represent. In computing, písmena correspond to Unicode code points, with combinations of code points producing the visible appearance of a single grapheme in some cases.

Etymologically, písmeno derives from písmo, meaning writing or script, with the diminutive suffix -meno, signaling a small unit of writing. The word is used in education, linguistics, and typography to discuss letters, their shapes, and their roles in spelling and reading.