The kanji 単 単 primarily conveys the meaning of "single," "simple," "alone," or "only." It suggests something that is singular, not multiple, or straightforward, without complexity. It can also imply an individual or something standing alone.

・On-yomi (音読み): タン (tan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ひと (hito) - as in 単単 alone, which is rarely used

⚫︎ 簡単 (かんたん) Translation: Simple; Easy ⚫︎ 単語 (たんご) Translation: Word (single word) ⚫︎ 単純 (たんじゅん) Translation: Simple; Pure; Mere

The kanji 単 単 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). It combines the phonetic component dan 旦 (たん) which also acts as a meaning component; this represents something small and round and also the sunrise. The radical 丶 (ten or dot) is placed above the phonetic component to signify a single dot. The original meaning relates to "the single dot" which means "alone," or "one." Over time, the meaning expanded to encompass the ideas of "single," "simple," and "only."