noun
letter; missive
A formal, literary term for a letter; rarely used in everyday conversation. Modern Japanese prefers 手紙 (てがみ).
彼は古風な手簡をしたためた。
He penned an old-fashioned letter.
Literary kanji form for 'letter'; rarely used in modern Japanese.
Alternate literary kanji form; even less common than 手簡.
Composed of 手 (hand) and 簡 (simplicity, letter). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning 'letter'.