Grapheme

A grapheme is the smallest significant unit in writing. For example, any letter is a grapheme. There are two graphemes for each 'letter of the alphabet' in any literate person's writing of English (and indeed most European languages) the upper case and lower case forms, 'A' and 'a'. In print and handwriting, the lower case of letters such as 'a' and 'g' may be represented in at least two different ways, quite apart from the variations between individuals' different 'hands'.

If we add another grapheme in the form of an accent or diacritic, the significance of the letter changes. So these accents or diacritics are graphemes. For example, 'é' is not the same, in French, as 'è', nor as the simple unmarked grapheme 'e'. In other European languages, consonants are frequently marked, e.g. in , 'ç', š and 'ñ'. In writing Scandinavian languages, one must distinguish between 'o' and 'ø'.

The word grapheme is derived from the Greek word for 'to write' 'graphein' (γραφή) and the suffix '-eme'.