Which to use
“simple” is an adjective and “single” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #457
- “simple” frequency rank
- #8,310
- “single” frequency rank
- 8767
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | simple | single |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui n’est pas composé. | Cabine ou chambre d’hôtel pour une personne. Dans ce cas, s’utilise au féminin, et s’oppose à double ou twin. |
Where the eye mixes simple and single
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between simple and single
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: simple is \sɛ̃pl\ while single is \siŋ.ɡœl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
simple is recorded at frequency rank #457, classified as anadj, pronounced \sɛ̃pl\. single is at rank #8,310, tagged as anoun, pronounced \siŋ.ɡœl\.
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 8767, this pair ranks #418,905 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of simple vs single
Shared letters: eils. Private to "simple": mp. Private to "single": gn.
"simple" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "single" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "simple" and "single" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "simple" vs "single" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "simple" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "single" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #418,905 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "simple" and "single" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sigles vs single". 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 #418,905 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.