grapheme
nounUK /ˈɡræfiːm/
US /ˈɡræfiːm/
A grapheme is a letter or group of letters that makes one sound in a word.
The letters 'sh' form a single grapheme in the word 'ship'.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. The smallest unit of a writing system that can distinguish meaning.
Linguists study how each grapheme functions within a script.
3. A written symbol representing a unit of sound in a language.
The grapheme 'a' can represent different sounds in different words.
4. In computing, a single user-perceived character in text.
The emoji counts as one grapheme in the string.