---
title: grapheme — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «grapheme» in the school dictionary: A grapheme is a letter or group of letters that stands for one sound (phoneme) in writing, like «sh» in ship or «igh» in night. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# grapheme

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** grapheme, letter, word, igh, split grapheme, teacher · **What happens:** be, stand, have, make, put, spell · **To what, where:** letter, writing, three graphemes, letter grapheme, cap, cape

<!-- .vabout -->
«grapheme» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [grapheme in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/grapheme.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A grapheme is a letter or group of letters that stands for one sound (phoneme) in writing, like «sh» in ship or «igh» in night.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:grapheme:m1:1
# text = A grapheme is a letter or group of letters that stands for one sound (phoneme) in writing, like «sh» in ship or «igh» in night.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	grapheme	grapheme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	letters	letter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	stands	stand	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
12	for	for	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	14	nummod	_	_
14	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
15	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	phoneme	phoneme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	16	punct	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	writing	writing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
21	like	like	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	sh	sh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	23	punct	_	_
25	in	in	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nmod	_	_
27	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	29	cc	_	_
28	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	29	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	igh	igh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	29	punct	_	_
31	in	in	ADP	IN	_	32	case	_	_
32	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a grapheme | a letter or group of letters |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **stand** | present | a letter or group of letters |  |  | writing | night | for one sound; like sh in ship or igh | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in writing=Location |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The word «ship» has three graphemes: sh, i, p.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:grapheme:x1:1
# text = The word «ship» has three graphemes: sh, i, p.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	graphemes	grapheme	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
10	sh	sh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	i	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	p.	P.	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the word | three graphemes |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent grapheme=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«igh» in «light» is a three-letter grapheme.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:grapheme:x2:1
# text = «igh» in «light» is a three-letter grapheme.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	igh	igh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
10	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	12	nummod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	grapheme	grapheme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | igh in light | a letter grapheme |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The split grapheme a\_e makes «cap» into «cape».

<!-- fold The tree, 9 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:grapheme:x3:1
# text = The split grapheme a_e makes «cap» into «cape».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	split	split	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	grapheme	grapheme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	_	_	PUNCT	NFP	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	e	e	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	cap	cap	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
11	into	into	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	cape	cape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | the split grapheme | cap |  | cape |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP.material PP.product»: agent=Agent cap=Material into cape=Product |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our teacher put the new grapheme on the phonics wall.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:grapheme:x4:1
# text = Our teacher put the new grapheme on the phonics wall.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	put	put	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	grapheme	grapheme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	phonics	phonic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	compound	_	_
10	wall	wall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | past | Our teacher | the new grapheme |  | the phonics wall |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V PP.destination NP»: agent=Agent grapheme=Theme on wall=Destination |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How many graphemes are in the word «boat»?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:grapheme:x5:1
# text = How many graphemes are in the word «boat»?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	graphemes	grapheme	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | many graphemes |  |  | the word |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sound «f» can be spelled with the grapheme ph, as in phone.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:grapheme:x6:1
# text = The sound «f» can be spelled with the grapheme ph, as in phone.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	f	f	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	spelled	spell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	grapheme	grapheme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	ph	ph	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	as	as	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	phone	phone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spell** | can · passive |  | the sound and f |  |  |  | with the grapheme ph and phone | vn pronounce-29.3.1 «NP V NP PP.manner»: subject=Theme with ph=Manner |

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**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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