简单 (jiǎn dān) — simple; not complicated | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

简单 describes how something is made or explained — 'simple, straightforward.' For a task being easy to do, use 容易 instead. 朴素/朴实 describe a plain style, not a simple one.

adjective

simplenot complicated

Examples

简单。
Zhè ge wèn tí hěn jiǎn dān.
This question is very simple.
简单，。
Tā shuō de huà hěn jiǎn dān, wǒ yí xià jiù míng bai le.
What he said was very simple; I understood it in no time.
简单，。
Zuò fàn qí shí bù jiǎn dān, xū yào hěn duō shí jiān.
Cooking is actually not simple; it takes a lot of time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

简 and 单 both convey simplicity, giving the sense of not complicated.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 簡; 简 is its simplified writing.

竹間簡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

間

閒xián簡jiǎn

Same sound today

In the traditional form 簡, 竹 (bamboo) is paired with 間 (also written 閒) as a sound part; the simplified 简 is a later shorthand.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 3 HSK 2.0 Level 3 1000 Most Frequent Chinese Words Good & Bad 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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