[jhbadger]

Yes, the system is reminiscent of written Japanese in that way in that a word is sometimes spelled out phonetically, sometimes with an ideograph, and sometimes both for good measure if one or the other isn't viewed as clear enough.

[Pet_Ant]

I have heard it described as not quite an "alphabet" but more like a rebus[1] using an alphabet.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus