简

Tap the pinyin to hear it

simple; uncomplicated; letter; to choose; to select; bamboo strips used for writing (old)

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HSK 3.0: Level 3
Old HSK: Level 3
Strokes: 13
Radical: 竹 +7
Structure: Top–bottom 上下
Traditional: 簡
Common rank: #929
Unicode: U+7B80

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 简 is formed

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

⺮ meaning “bamboo” + 间 sound ( jiān )

Components ⺮间

How to remember it

simple · Heisig RSH #1265

竹 bamboo + 间 interval

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 简

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
白行简	Bái Xíng jiǎn	Bai Xingjian (c. 776-826), younger brother of Bai Juyi 白居易[Bai2 Ju1 yi4], Tang novelist an…
简单地说	jiǎn dān de shuō	to put it simply; simply put
简而言之	jiǎn ér yán zhī	in a nutshell; to put it briefly
简阳市	Jiǎn yáng Shì	Jianyang, a county-level city in Chengdu City 成都市[Cheng2 du1 Shi4], Sichuan
简化字	jiǎn huà zì	simplified Chinese character
不简单	bù jiǎn dān	not simple; rather complicated; remarkable; marvelous
简体字	jiǎn tǐ zì	simplified Chinese character, as opposed to traditional Chinese character 繁體字\|繁体字[fan2 ti3…
简言之	jiǎn yán zhī	in simple terms; to put things simply; briefly
简单化	jiǎn dān huà	simplification; to simplify
第二次汉字简化方案	Dì èr Cì Hàn zì Jiǎn huà Fāng àn	Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme (second round of simplified Chinese charact…
简单明了	jiǎn dān míng liǎo	clear and simple; in simple terms
极简主义	jí jiǎn zhǔ yì	minimalism
时间简史	Shí jiān Jiǎn shǐ	"A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking
简中	jiǎn zhōng	Simplified Chinese (abbr. for 簡體中文\|简体中文[jian3 ti3 Zhong1 wen2])
精简开支	jīng jiǎn kāi zhī	to reduce spending; to cut spending
简化	jiǎn huà	to simplify
简体	jiǎn tǐ	simplified form of Chinese characters, as opposed to traditional form 繁體\|繁体[fan2 ti3]
头脑简单四肢发达	tóu nǎo jiǎn dān sì zhī fā dá	all brawn no brains
简单网络管理协议	jiǎn dān wǎng luò guǎn lǐ xié yì	Simple Network Management Protocol; SNMP
简明	jiǎn míng	simple and clear; concise

Sound family

Characters sharing the sound component 间 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
间 sound part	jiān	between, among; midpoint; space, place, locality
锏	jiǎn	rapier; mace
裥	jiǎn	pleats, folds