Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Phonemes are the smallest distinctive sound units in speech that can distinguish one word from another.
Related terms
Allophones: Allophones are variations of a single phoneme. They do not change the meaning of a word, but they may sound slightly different depending on where they appear in a word.
Graphemes: Graphemes are the smallest units in written language that represent phonemes in spelling.
Minimal Pairs: Minimal pairs are two words that differ by only one phoneme (like "bat" and "cat").