In English, we say "this pen is easy to write with" or "this road is hard to walk on." Japanese has an equally simple method — attach やすい or にくい to the verb stem, and you instantly get a brand new adjective.
Basic Construction
Verb stem (ます form minus ます) + やすい / にくい
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜やすい | Easy to do ~, convenient to do ~ | 書きやすい → easy to write |
| 〜にくい | Hard to do ~, difficult to do ~ | 書きにくい → hard to write |
The process takes just one step:
| Verb | ます form | Remove ます | + やすい | + にくい |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 書く | 書きます | 書き | 書きやすい | 書きにくい |
| 読む | 読みます | 読み | 読みやすい | 読みにくい |
| 食べる | 食べます | 食べ | 食べやすい | 食べにくい |
| 歩く | 歩きます | 歩き | 歩きやすい | 歩きにくい |
| 飲む | 飲みます | 飲み | 飲みやすい | 飲みにくい |
| 使う | 使います | 使い | 使いやすい | 使いにくい |
The Result Is an い-Adjective
Since やすい and にくい are い-adjectives themselves, the compound words follow the exact same conjugation rules:
| Conjugation | 書きやすい | 書きにくい |
|---|---|---|
| Present affirmative | 書きやすい | 書きにくい |
| Present negative | 書きやすくない | 書きにくくない |
| Past affirmative | 書きやすかった | 書きにくかった |
| Polite form | 書きやすいです | 書きにくいです |
| Adverb form | 書きやすく | 書きにくく |
Key Feature: They're Opposites
やすい and にくい are exact opposites, so you don't need to negate either one.
"Not easy to write" — don't say
書きやすくない, just say 書きにくい."Not hard to write" — don't say
書きにくくない, just say 書きやすい.
Grammatically, 書きやすくない isn't wrong, but Japanese speakers almost never say it — using the antonym is much more natural.
やすい Has Two Layers of Meaning
Beyond "easy to do," やすい also implies something happens frequently:
この道は滑りやすい。 → This road is slippery. (physically easy to slip + happens often)
彼は風邪をひきやすい。 → He catches colds easily. (constitutionally prone to it)
Example Sentences
| Example | Translation |
|---|---|
| このペンは書きやすい。 | This pen is easy to write with. |
| このレポートは書きにくい。 | This report is hard to write. |
| このビールは飲みやすい。 | This beer goes down smoothly. |
| この魚は食べやすい。 | This fish is easy to eat. (few bones) |
| この靴は歩きにくい。 | These shoes are hard to walk in. |
| この本は読みやすい。 | This book is easy to read. |
| この薬は飲みにくい。 | This medicine is hard to swallow. |
| このアプリは使いやすい。 | This app is easy to use. |
Note the difference between 食べやすい and おいしい:
- 食べやすい → easy to eat (no bones, already cut up, physically convenient)
- おいしい → delicious (tastes good)
Fish being 食べやすい means it has few bones and is easy to eat, not that it's tasty.
Works with Virtually Any Verb
In theory, any verb can take やすい / にくい. Feel free to create new compounds:
| Verb | やすい | にくい |
|---|---|---|
| 分かる understand | 分かりやすい easy to understand | 分かりにくい hard to understand |
| 覚える memorize | 覚えやすい easy to remember | 覚えにくい hard to remember |
| 見る see | 見やすい easy to see | 見にくい hard to see |
| 住む live | 住みやすい easy to live in | 住みにくい hard to live in |
| 壊れる break | 壊れやすい breaks easily | 壊れにくい doesn't break easily |
Summary
- Verb stem + やすい = easy to do, convenient, tends to happen
- Verb stem + にくい = hard to do, inconvenient
- The resulting compound is an い-adjective and conjugates just like any other
- やすい and にくい are opposites, so you rarely need to negate them
- Almost any verb can take these suffixes — extremely productive word-building
Practice Questions
1. Use 「見る」to create a compound adjective meaning "this character is hard to read."
Show answer
この字は見にくい。
Explanation: 見る→見ます→見 (stem) + にくい = 見にくい.
2. What does 「この薬は飲みやすい」mean? How is it different from 「この薬はいい」?
Show answer
- 飲みやすい → This medicine is easy to take/swallow (not bitter, small pills, etc.)
- いい → This medicine is good (effective)
飲みやすい describes how easy it is to get down, not how well the medicine works.
3. Which sounds more natural? A: 「歩きやすくない靴」 B: 「歩きにくい靴」
Show answer
B is more natural. Since やすい and にくい are opposites, "not easy to walk in" is more naturally expressed as にくい rather than negating やすい.