Easy or hard to do: 〜やすい・〜にくい
Stem + やすい／にくい
Stem + やすい／にくい: easy／hard to do with this thing (or that happens easily). It becomes an い-adjective that conjugates normally.
In short
Attached to a verb stem, やすい and にくい form い-adjectives: 読みやすい (easy to read), 歩きにくい (hard to walk on). You describe a thing in terms of the action you do with it: a book that's easy to read, a street that's hard to walk along. やすい is also used to say something tends to happen: こわれやすい (fragile).
- この 本は 字が 大きくて 読みやすいです。この ほんは じが おおきくて よみやすいです。This book has large print, so it's easy to read.
- この 道は せまくて 歩きにくい。この みちは せまくて あるきにくい。This street is narrow, so it's hard to walk along.
- 先生の 説明は とても わかりやすい。せんせいの せつめいは とても わかりやすい。The teacher's explanations are very easy to understand.
- 白い 服は よごれやすい。しろい ふくは よごれやすい。White clothes get dirty easily.
The basics
やすい here has nothing to do with “cheap”: it's a different word meaning “easy”. にくい means “difficult, awkward”. Attached to a verb stem, they describe how the action goes with a thing: 読みやすい 本 (a book that reads easily). English does the same with “easy to…” / “hard to…”.
This book is easy to read.
- noun
- verb
- adjective
- この はしは 使いにくいですね。この はしは つかいにくいですね。These chopsticks are awkward to use, aren't they?
- 大阪の ちかてつは わかりやすい。おおさかの ちかてつは わかりやすい。The Osaka subway is easy to figure out.
How to form it
Verb stem (ます-form without ます) + やすい / にくい. The result is an ordinary い-adjective: it conjugates (やすくない, やすかった, やすくて) and goes before a noun (使いやすい 部屋).
| Form | やすい | にくい |
|---|---|---|
| present | 読みやすい | 読みにくい |
| negative | 読みやすくない | 読みにくくない |
| past | 読みやすかった | 読みにくかった |
| て-form | 読みやすくて | 読みにくくて |
| before a noun | 読みやすい 本 | 読みにくい 字 |
- 前の パソコンは 使いにくかった。まえの パソコンは つかいにくかった。My old computer was awkward to use.
読みやすい or かんたん?
かんたん and 難しい judge how hard a task or its content is: this problem is difficult, this exam is easy. 〜やすい and 〜にくい talk about how the action goes because of the thing: handwriting that's hard to read, shoes that are a pain to walk in.
For a difficulty you feel more personally (pain, discomfort), Japanese also has 〜づらい, which comes at N3.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| この 本は 難しい | the content of this book is difficult |
| この 本は 読みにくい | this book is a pain to read (small print, layout…) |
| この 問題は かんたんだ | this problem is easy |
| この ペンは 書きやすい | this pen is nice to write with |
- 田中さんの 字は 読みにくい。たなかさんの じは よみにくい。Mr Tanaka's handwriting is hard to read.
A tendency: 〜やすい
With a verb describing an involuntary change, 〜やすい shows a tendency, how easily it happens: こわれやすい (fragile), かぜを ひきやすい (to catch colds easily), わすれやすい (to forget easily). 〜にくい says the opposite: こわれにくい (sturdy).
- 冬は かぜを ひきやすいので、気を つけて ください。ふゆは かぜを ひきやすいので、きを つけて ください。It's easy to catch a cold in winter, so take care.
Common mistakes
- Using the dictionary form: “読むやすい” is wrong; it's 読みやすい.
- Mixing up やすい (easy, in hiragana) and 安い (cheap).
- Using にくい for something completely impossible: 歩きにくい means it's hard to walk, not that you can't walk.
8 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N4 point is on the Yotsubashi Line (Shopping) of the Osaka subway.