single letter

[ˈsɪŋɡəl ˈlɛtər]
nounpl: single letters
letra única / letra isolada
1. one individual character of the alphabet, standing alone or considered separately from others
The word 'cat' is made up of three single letters: c, a, and t.
A palavra 'gato' é composta por três letras únicas: g, a, t e o.
2. a character that represents a single sound or phoneme in written form
In cryptography, each single letter can be substituted with another letter.
Em criptografia, cada letra única pode ser substituída por outra letra.
3. an alphabetic symbol considered individually rather than as part of a word
The teacher asked students to identify each single letter in the sentence.
A professora pediu aos alunos que identificassem cada letra única na frase.
The term 'single letter' is used commonly in educational contexts in both Brazil and the USA for teaching literacy, phonics, and writing systems. In Portuguese-speaking countries, 'letra única' is the standard term used in schools when teaching alphabet recognition and spelling.
Synonyms / Sinônimos
characteralphabetic characterindividual letterdistinct letter
Antonyms / Antônimos
wordphrasesentencecombination of letters

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
letra única
most common usage in Portuguese
General Brazilian
letra isolada
used when emphasizing separation from other letters
Portugal
letra única
same usage as Brazilian Portuguese
Portugal
letra singular
alternative formal usage

Related Words

alphabetcharacterconsonantvowelorthographygrapheme

Related Idioms & Phrases

to the letter - seguir à risca
not a single letter out of place - nem uma letra fora do lugar
Look up more words on Fala2Me
The free English-Portuguese dictionary with real Brazilian accents, NYC slang, conjugator and more
Open Fala2Me →