〜やすい・〜にくい~yasui · ~nikui
Yasui · nikui (〜やすい・〜にくい) means “easy / hard to do”.
This pen is easy to write with.
Attach 「〜やすい・〜にくい」 to a verb stem to say an action is easy or difficult, not impossible.
In the course
How it works
Both people are writing. Which pen makes it easier? Compare the pictures to see how easy or hard the action is.
「やすい」 means an action is easy to do. Here, it describes how comfortable the pen is to use.
「にくい」 means an action is hard to do. Even if you can write, you can say that writing takes effort.
Remove 「ます」 from the verb’s ます-form, then add 「やすいです」 or 「にくいです」.
Keep the part before ます: 歩きます→歩き→歩きやすいです.
「この説明はわかりにくいです。」 means “This explanation is hard to understand.”
When choosing shoes, 「歩きやすいです」 describes how easy it is to walk in that pair.
「書きにくい」 means writing is difficult. It does not mean you cannot write at all.
Example sentences
- このkonoペンpenはwa書きやすいkakiyasuiです。desu
This pen is easy to write with.
- このkono説明setsumeiはwaわかりにくいwakarinikui
In a conversation
- Aこの靴はどうですか。
A: How about these shoes?
- Bそうですね、歩きやすいですよ。
B: Let's see, they are easy to walk in.
Check yourself
Level 0 · Conjugate
Change to 〜やすい: “easy to do”. 〜やすい
このパンはやわらかくて、（食べます）です。
Level 1 · Recognise
Which sentence is correct?
Level 1 · Recognise
Listen and choose the meaning
Level 2 · Build
Put the words in order
These shoes are easy to walk in.
Level 3 · Use
What goes in the blank?
このペンは ですから、これを買います。
This pen is easy to write with, so I will buy this one.
More grammar in this theme
- 〜やすい・〜にくいeasy / hard to do