When you’re learning Japanese, you’ll often want to talk about how easy or difficult it is to do something. That’s where the grammar patterns ～やすい and ～にくい come in handy!

These two endings attach to the stem of a verb to express whether an action is easy or hard to do.

What Are ～やすい and ～にくい?

• ～やすい means “easy to do”
• ～にくい means “difficult/hard to do”

Both are na-adjective forms and modify verbs to describe how easy or difficult the action is.

How to Form ～やすい and ～にくい

1. Take the verb stem (the verb without the ます ending).
2. Add やすい to say “easy to do”
3. Add にくい to say “hard to do”

Examples:

Usage in Sentences

• このケーキは食たべやすいです。
  This cake is easy to eat.
• このペンは書かきにくいです。
  This pen is hard to write with.
• この本ほんは読よみやすいけど、漢字かんじが多おおいから読よみにくいところもある。
  This book is easy to read, but since it has many kanji, there are parts that are hard to read.

Notes and Tips

• ～やすい and ～にくい express a subjective feeling about the ease or difficulty of an action.
• They usually describe physical ease/difficulty but can also describe mental or abstract difficulty.
• Because these are adjectives, you can conjugate them:
  • 食たべやすくない (not easy to eat)
  • 書かきにくかった (was hard to write)

Practice Time!

Try making sentences using ～やすい and ～にくい with these verbs:

• 見みる — to see
• 使つかう — to use
• 分わかる — to understand

Example:
この説明せつめいは分わかりやすいです。 (This explanation is easy to understand.)

Summary

• Use verb stem + やすい = easy to do
• Use verb stem + にくい = hard to do
• They help you describe how simple or difficult an action is in Japanese.

If you practice these patterns, you’ll be able to talk about your experiences and preferences more naturally in Japanese!
Happy studying! 😊

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