Japanese grammar
What does ～やすい／～にくい mean? Japanese grammar N4
～やすい／～にくい means easy to ~ / hard to ~.
| Level (estimated, JLPT framework) | N4 |
|---|---|
| Structure | V masu stem + やすいです V masu stem + にくいです |
| Romaji | ~ yasui / ~ nikui |
| Meaning | easy to ~ / hard to ~ |
Forming it
| Exception | Group 3: します → しやすい、きます → きにくい |
|---|---|
| How to form | Drop ます, add やすい／にくい: 使います → 使いやすい、読みます → 読みにくい |
| Modifying a noun | 使いやすいパソコン、分かりにくい説明 |
| Further conjugation | Both become an i-ADJECTIVE: 使いやすくない、使いやすかった、使いやすくて |
How to use it
Evaluates something as easy or difficult to do.
- Attaches directly to the ます stem. The result is an i-ADJECTIVE — this point is very important, since every subsequent conjugation must follow i-adjective rules, not verb rules.
- ～やすい: easy, convenient. It has two nuances: (1) easy to operate — 「このペンは書きやすいです」; (2) likely to happen — 「このコップは割れやすいです」(this cup breaks easily). The second meaning isn't necessarily positive.
- ～にくい: hard, inconvenient, unlikely. 「この漢字は覚えにくいです」(this kanji is hard to remember). It describes a characteristic of the THING itself, not your own ability.
- An important distinction from 「難しい」: 「この本は読みにくいです」 = the book is hard to read because of small print, faint ink, poor translation — the problem lies in the object. Whereas 「この本は難しいです」 = the content is hard to understand. Vietnamese speakers often use 難しい for both, since Vietnamese only has a single word for "difficult."
- Since it's an i-adjective, it can connect into a clause: 「使いやすくて、安いです」(easy to use and cheap).
Examples
このペンは書きやすいです。
This pen is easy to write with.
先生の説明は分かりやすくて、いいです。
The teacher's explanation is easy to understand and good.
この靴は小さくて、履きにくいです。
These shoes are small and hard to wear.
Keep in mind
- There's also 「～づらい」, close in meaning to にくい but leaning toward psychological/physical discomfort (N3).
- やすい here has NOTHING to do with 安い (cheap) — it's just a homophone.
Common mistakes
-
Wrongこの字は読みにくいじゃないです。
This character is not hard to read.
Correctこの字は読みにくくないです。
にくい／やすい are i-ADJECTIVES, so the negative must be ～くないです. Learners often use じゃない because they forget that after being combined, the whole phrase has become an i-adjective.
-
Wrongこの本は読むやすいです。
This book is easy to read.
Correctこの本は読みやすいです。
Must attach to the ます stem (読み), not the dictionary form. This mistake is very common among beginners because the dictionary form is the "default" form in their minds.
Exam tips
- Remember: every pattern that attaches to the ます stem (やすい/にくい/すぎる/はじめる/つづける/なおす/ながら) uses the same way of connecting.