phonogram

/ˈfəʊ.nə.ɡɹæm/

//ˈfəʊ.nə.ɡɹæm// noun

"phonogram" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“phonogram” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A character or symbol (grapheme) that represents a sound, as opposed to logograms and determinatives.

Corpus desk

Index EN-phonogram · phonogram · English

phonogram · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for phonogram
PropertyValue
Headwordphonogram
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfəʊ.nə.ɡɹæm/
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “phonogram” in English

phonogramsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

phonogram is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfəʊ.nə.ɡɹæm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for phonogram in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From phono- + -gram. The correct English form is phonogram, spelled P-H-O-N-O-G-R-A-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A character or symbol (grapheme) that represents a sound, as opposed to logograms and determinatives.
  2. 2
    An audio recording, regardless of physical format.

Etymology

From phono- + -gram.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "phonogram"?
"phonogram" is spelled P-H-O-N-O-G-R-A-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfəʊ.nə.ɡɹæm/.
What does "phonogram" mean?
As a noun, "phonogram" means: A character or symbol (grapheme) that represents a sound, as opposed to logograms and determinatives.
How do you pronounce "phonogram"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "phonogram" is /ˈfəʊ.nə.ɡɹæm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "phonogram"?
From phono- + -gram. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list