Abjad

An abjad (/ˈæbdʒæd/, Arabic: أبجد; also abgad) is a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving vowel sounds to be inferred by the reader. This contrasts with alphabets, which provide graphemes for both consonants and vowels. The term was introduced in 1990 by Peter T. Daniels. Other terms for the same concept include: partial phonemic script, segmentally linear defective phonographic script, consonantary, consonant writing, and consonantal alphabet.

For the traditional ordering of the letters of the Arabic alphabet, see Abjad numerals.

Not to be confused with Abugida.

Impure abjads represent vowels with either optional diacritics, a limited number of distinct vowel glyphs, or both.

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