simple
\sɛ̃pl\
The verdict
“simple” has 9 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #457. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #457
- frequency rank, French
- 6,032
- “S” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 18
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui n’est pas composé.
Corpus desk
Index FR-simple · simple · French
simple · rank #457 · 9 variants · 18 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #457
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,032
- PHOTO-FINISH permet
Nearest frequency peer: permet (-1 rank slots)
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “simple”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- longtemps
longtemps
99,547 corpus weight
- match
match
99,546 corpus weight
- permet
permet
99,545 corpus weight
- simple
simple
99,544 corpus weight
- voilà
voilà
99,543 corpus weight
- voit
voit
99,542 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “simple” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | simple |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \sɛ̃pl\ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #457 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 18 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Où “simple” se place dans la fréquence du français
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around simple (IPA \sɛ̃pl\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #457 among 6,032 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for simple, with forms such as "ismple", "simlpe", and "simmple". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "smile", "single", "souple", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is simple, spelled S-I-M-P-L-E.
Definition
- 1Qui n’est pas composé.
- 2Qui n’est pas compliqué.
- 3Qui n’est pas multiple.
- 4Qui est modeste.
- 5Qui est facile à comprendre, à faire, à employer.
- 6Qui agit selon ses sentiments, avec une honnêteté naturelle et une droiture spontanée.
- 7Qui ignore ou refuse le faste, les complications, les vanités et les formalités.
- 8Qui agit avec naturel, sans orgueil, sans prétention.
- 9(Vers 1165) Qui a peu de culture, de finesse, d’intelligence, qui se laisse facilement tromper.
- 10Qui est d’un rang peu élevé, de condition sociale modeste.
- 11Qui est sans ornement sans recherche, sans affectation
- 12Qui se conjugue sans auxiliaire.
- 13Sans malice, qui se laisse facilement tromper.
- 14Qui se suffit à lui seul.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how simple appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
L’argent est un corps simple.
(Botanique) Une fleur, une feuille, un fruit simple…
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ismple
- simlpe
- simmple
- simpel
- simplle
- simpple
- sipmle
- smiple
- ssimple
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of simple - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "simple"?
What does "simple" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "simple"?
How do you pronounce "simple"?
What language does "simple" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar French words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "simple", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "simple". Here's where to go from here.
- "simple" maps to 18 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "smile". View pair
- 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #457 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more French words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.