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単

simple
Stroke count: 9

Readings

On readingタン
Kun readingひとえ
JLPT level: N2JōyōGrade 4

Meanings

  1. simpleRtK
  2. one
  3. single
    日本ではほとんど全ての道路は単車線だ。In Japan, almost all roads are single-lane.tatoeba
  4. merely
    彼は単に冗談としてそれを言った。He said it merely as a joke.tatoeba
  1. singles (tennis, badminton, etc.)
  2. win bet (bet which predicts the winner of a race)

Popular Usage

簡単

Radicals and components

Radical十ten
Components
How it's built
単
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Mnemonic (RtK)

ⓘ

owl · rice field (田) · brains · ten (十) · needle (丨)

From "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig · Frame 2078

Compound words

簡単かんたん
simple; easy; uncomplicated; brief; quick
単にたんに
simply; merely; only; solely
単位たんい
unit (e.g. meters, grams, etc.); denomination; unit (i.e. one comprised of many); group; whole
単一たんいつ
single; simple; sole; individual; unitary
単価たんか
unit price; unit cost
単語たんご
word; vocabulary
単純たんじゅん
simple; plain; uncomplicated; straightforward; simple-minded
単身たんしん
alone; by oneself; unaccompanied; unaided; single-handed
単数たんすう
single; one; singular (number)
単調たんちょう
monotony; monotone; dullness; monotone; monotonic
単独たんどく
sole; single; solo; independence; singleness
単産たんさん
(single-industry) industrial union
英単語えいたんご
English word
単なるたんなる
mere; simple; sheer
単行本たんこうぼん
standalone book (i.e. not part of an anthology, series, etc.); (book published as a) single volume; tankōbon; individual volume of a manga series
単身赴任たんしんふにん
taking up a post away from one's family; job transfer without one's family; living apart from one's family for the sake of one's job; unaccompanied posting
単複たんぷく
simplicity and complexity
単于ぜんう
Chanyu (supreme leader of the Xiongnu people)
単瓣たんべん
monopetalous
冪単べきたん
unipotent
十二単じゅうにひとえ
twelve-layered ceremonial kimono (worn by a court lady)
全単射ぜんたんしゃ
bijection
単語篇たんごへん
glossary
単細胞たんさいぼう
single cell

On Reading Examples

体制に従おうとする意識は、この単一民族社会の本質的な要素である。たんいつ
Conformity is an essential element of our homogeneous community.tatoeba
ねじ、てこ、くさび、滑車などは単一機械と呼ばれる。たんいつ
The screw, the lever, the wedge, the pulley, etc. are called simple machines.tatoeba
トムは決して頭が悪いわけではない。単なる怠け者なだけだ。たんなる
Tom is by no means unintelligent. He is just lazy.tatoeba

Additional Examples

彼は単に読むふりをしていたとわかった。
I could tell he was only pretending to read.tatoeba
彼は単に好奇心からそれをしただけだ。
He did it simply out of curiosity.tatoeba

Stroke Order

9 strokes

Practice Writing

Practice Writing 単

Draw with a guide, then from memory — checked at every step