What is a grapheme?

A grapheme is the written form of a sound (a phoneme). It can be one letter, like 's', or several letters, like 'sh' or 'igh', that together spell one sound. Matching phonemes to graphemes is the heart of phonics.

Examples

• The sound 's' is written with the grapheme s.
• The sound 'sh' is written with the grapheme sh.
• The sound in night uses the grapheme igh.

Quick facts

• A phoneme is the sound; a grapheme is how you write it.
• One sound can be spelt by different graphemes, like 'ai', 'ay' and 'a-e'.