HSK 3 · Adjectives

简单 jiǎndān “simple” in Chinese

Traditional 簡單

What 简单 means

  1. simple
  2. not complicated

How to say 简单

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale简jiǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale单dān1st tone, high and level

简单 in a sentence

  1. 这个问题不简单。

    Zhè ge wèntí bù jiǎndān.

    This question isn’t simple.

    Sentence #2307571 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 你可以简单地做一下自我介绍吗？

    Nǐ kěyǐ jiǎndān de zuò yíxià zìwǒ jièshào ma?

    Could you briefly introduce yourself?

    Sentence #5097670 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 西班牙语比德语简单多了。

    Xībānyáyǔ bǐ Déyǔ jiǎndān duō le.

    Spanish is much easier than German.

    Sentence #1990209 from Tatoeba

How 简单 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 简 (jiǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
简jiǎnsimple
  • ⺮bamboo form of 竹 · zhúMeaning part
  • 间between · jiānSound part

⺮ hints at the meaning (bamboo); 间 (jiān) hints at the sound. Compare it with jiǎn.

The character 单 (dān) drawn as one shape
单dānbill

单 is a single shape of 8 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

How to write 简单

简 13 strokes · 单 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

简单 (jiǎndān) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 简单 (jiǎndān). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 简单

Words with 简

简历jiǎnlì · curriculum vitae (CV)简直jiǎnzhí · simply简化jiǎnhuà · to simplify精简jīngjiǎn · to streamline简陋jiǎnlòu · simple and crude简要jiǎnyào · brief简体字jiǎntǐzì · simplified Chinese characters

Words with 单

菜单càidān · menu名单míngdān · list of names单纯dānchún · simple单调dāndiào · monotonous单位dānwèi · unit (of measurement)单元dānyuán · unit (forming an entity)单独dāndú · alone传单chuándān · leaflet床单chuángdān · bed sheet

More words: Adjectives

干净gānjìng · clean更gèng · more坏huài · bad极jí · an extreme旧jiù · old可爱kě'ài · cute蓝lán · blue老lǎo · old

FAQs

简单 (jiǎndān) means “simple” or “not complicated”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it jiǎndān: jiǎn with a 3rd tone, then dān with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 简单 is written 簡單. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type jiandan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 简单 from the suggestions. Typing jiandan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
简单 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.