Syllabary
![Each syllable (σ) branches into consonantal onset (ω) and rime (ρ) that is divided into nucleus (ν) and coda (κ), non-/supra-segmental parameters like tone (τ) affect the syllable as a whole](/Images/godic/202502/14/Syllable_diagram5630.png")
![Syllabaries often begin as simplified logograms, as shown here with the Japanese katakana writing system. To the left is the modern letter, with its original Chinese Character form on the right.](/Images/godic/202502/14/Katakana_origine.svg5630.png")
![Bilingual stop sign in English and the Cherokee syllabary, Tahlequah, Oklahoma](/Images/godic/202502/14/Cherokee_stop_sign5630.png")
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent the syllables or (more frequently) moras which make up words. A symbol in a syllabary, called a syllabogram, typically represents an (optional) consonant sound (simple onset) followed by a vowel sound (nucleus)—that is, a CV or V syllable—but other phonographic mappings such as CVC, CV- tone, and C (normally nasals at the end of syllables) are also found in syllabaries.