Ma'anar ƙamus na "Rubutun haruffa" yana nufin tsarin rubutu ko tsarin rubutu wanda ke amfani da haruffa don wakiltar sautunan harshe. A cikin rubutun haruffa, kowace alama tana wakiltar sauti ɗaya ko sautin waya, kuma ana haɗa alamomin don ƙirƙirar kalmomi. Misalan rubutun haruffa sun haɗa da rubutun Latin da ake amfani da su don Ingilishi, rubutun Cyrillic da ake amfani da shi don Rashanci, da rubutun Larabci da ake amfani da shi don Larabci. Kishiyar rubutun haruffa shine rubutun logographic, kamar haruffan Sinanci, wanda kowace alama ke wakiltar kalma ko ra'ayi.