Which to use
“simple” and “simplex” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #886
- “simple” frequency rank
- #30,229
- “simplex” frequency rank
- 31115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | simple | simplex |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added. | Having a single structure; not composite or complex; undivided, unitary. |
Where the eye mixes simple and simplex
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between simple and simplex
A purely visual mix-up. simple (/ˈsɪm.pəl/) and simplex (/ˈsɪmplɛks/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “simple” sits inside “simplex”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
simple is recorded at frequency rank #886, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɪm.pəl/. simplex is at rank #30,229, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɪmplɛks/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 31115, this pair ranks #348,897 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of simple vs simplex
Shared letters: eilmps. Private to "simple": -. Private to "simplex": x.
"simple" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "simplex" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "simple" and "simplex" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "simple" or "simplex" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "simple" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "simplex" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,897 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "simple" and "simplex" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sampler vs simplex". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #348,897 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.