ideograms

An ideogram is a written symbol that represents an idea or concept rather than a specific spoken word or a particular sound. In typology, ideograms are often contrasted with pictograms (signs that resemble objects) and logograms (signs that represent words or morphemes). In practice, many writing systems blend these functions, and the label ideogram is applied loosely to signs whose meaning is conventional rather than phonetic.

Historically, true ideographs are rare in ancient writing. Most early scripts are pictographic or logographic, where signs stand for objects or words. Nevertheless, some scripts include ideographic elements, and modern discussions frequently treat universal or semi-universal signs as ideograms. In East Asia, Chinese characters are predominantly logograms, encoding morphemes or words, while Egyptian hieroglyphs include signs that function as ideographic determinants or semantic symbols.

In the modern world, ideograms appear in mathematics and science (for example +, −, ×, ∞), on public signage, and in user interfaces as icons that convey ideas without language. Emoji and other pictorial symbols in digital communication are often described as ideographic because they convey concepts across languages.

Limitations of ideographic representation include ambiguity and cultural dependency. Without shared conventions, a symbol can be interpreted differently by different audiences, and many signs carry multiple meanings or require contextual cues.

In sum, ideograms are symbols whose primary purpose is to convey ideas or concepts rather than phonetic information, and they frequently coexist with other writing modes within a writing system.