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簡

简简 · 繁簡

Mandarin · pinyin jiǎn

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簡: Look up this written character
简: jiǎn · simple, terse, succinct, a letter

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3 · jian3

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1character link55same-tone records

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

簡 · find source passages ↗ · 简 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 10 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gaan2

Cantonese word readings for 簡. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

bamboo slip
letter; epistle
simple; uncomplicated
terse; succinct; pithy; concise; brief; to the point
to simplify
to treat coldly; to give the cold-shoulder; to neglect
to select; to choose; to pick
a surname, Jian
(Yangzhou Mandarin) contraction of 井亁 (“how”)

character · Etymology 2

a transliteration of the English female given name Jane

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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