simple
sim·ple/ˈsɪm.pəl/adjective, noun
simple is spelled S-I-M-P-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (sim·ple). It appears 120 times per million words in written English, the 873rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, simple means “Uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in simple?
| Letters | 6: S-I-M-P-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sim·ple |
| In writing | 120 times per million words; the 873rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is simple?
Simple appears 120 times per million words in written English, the 873rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce simple?
- US /ˈsɪm.pəl/
- US [ˈsɪm.pɫ̩]
- /ˈsəm.pəl/
Simple has 2 syllables, split sim·ple in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-simple.ogg, En-us-simple.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with simple
Also written: semple.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with simple?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as simple from its last stressed vowel (/ɪmpəl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of simple
- simpler comparative
- more simple comparative
- simplest superlative
- most simple superlative
- simples plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- simpling participle, present
- simpled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does simple mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added.
- 2
Easy; not difficult.
- 3
Without ornamentation; plain.
- 4
Free from duplicity; guileless, innocent, straightforward.
- 5
Undistinguished in social condition; of no special rank.
- 6
archaicTrivial; insignificant.
- 7
colloquialFeeble-minded; foolish.
- 8
Consisting of one single substance; uncompounded.
noun
- 1
A herbal preparation made from one plant, as opposed to something made from more than one plant.
- 2
obsoleteA physician.
- 3
A simple or atomic proposition.
- 4
obsoleteSomething not mixed or compounded.
- 5
A drawloom.
- 6
Part of the apparatus for raising the heddles of a drawloom.
- 7
A feast which is not a double or a semidouble.
verb
- 1
archaicTo gather simples, i.e. medicinal herbs.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Simple in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense uncomplicated:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does simple come from?
Inherited from Middle English symple, from Old French simple, from Latin simplex (“simple”, literally “onefold”) (as opposed to duplex (“double”, literally “twofold”)), from semel (“the same”) + plicō (“to fold”). See same and fold. Compare single, singular, simultaneous, etc. Partially displaced native English onefold.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).