〜やすい・〜にくい: How to Say Easy or Hard To Do
Rating how easy or hard an action is
〜やすい and 〜にくい are a matched pair for judging how easy or hard something is to do. You take a verb, drop the ます-ending to get the stem, and add やすい ("easy to") or にくい ("hard to / difficult to"). So 読む ("to read") → 読み + やすい = 読みやすい ("easy to read"), and 食べる ("to eat") → 食べ + にくい = 食べにくい ("hard to eat"). They describe a built-in quality of the thing — this book is the kind of book that's easy to read — so the same object often takes both, depending on what you're judging.
この本は読みやすいです。
この ほんは よみやすいです。
This book is easy to read.
この字は読みにくいです。
この じは よみにくいです。
This handwriting is hard to read.
この茶碗は割れやすい。
この ちゃわんは われやすい。
This bowl breaks easily.
やすい can also mean 'tends to' — prone to happening.
It hangs off the ます-stem, not the dictionary form
This is the one attachment point that matters: both suffixes bolt onto the ます-stem. Make the ます-form, drop ます, and add やすい or にくい. Reaching for the plain dictionary form (読むやすい ✗) is the single most common slip — always shift to the stem first.
| Verb | ます-stem | + やすい | + にくい |
|---|---|---|---|
| 読む (read) | 読み | 読みやすい (easy to read) | 読みにくい (hard to read) |
| 食べる (eat) | 食べ | 食べやすい (easy to eat) | 食べにくい (hard to eat) |
| 使う (use) | 使い | 使いやすい (easy to use) | 使いにくい (hard to use) |
| する (do) | し | しやすい (easy to do) | しにくい (hard to do) |
Once attached, it behaves like an い-adjective
Here's the second thing to internalise: the moment you add やすい or にくい, the original verb is frozen and you have a regular い-adjective. It conjugates like 高い or 安い — negatives and pasts come off the adjective tail, never the verb. So "was easy to read" is 読みやすかった (not 読みやすいでした), and "isn't hard to read" is 読みにくくない (not 読みにくない or 読みにくません).
| Form | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 読みやすい | この本は読みやすい |
| Negative | 読みにくくない | この字は読みにくくない (not hard to read) |
| Past | 読みやすかった | あの本は読みやすかった (was easy to read) |
| Polite | 食べにくいです | 食べにくいです |
先生の説明は分かりやすかったです。
せんせいの せつめいは わかりやすかったです。
The teacher's explanation was easy to understand.
Past tense — やすい → やすかった.
この道は歩きにくくないですか。
この みちは あるきにくくないですか。
Isn't this road hard to walk on?
Negative にくい → にくくない.
やすい: not just "easy," but "prone to"
やすい has a double life. Alongside "easy to do," it very often means an action tends to happen or happens readily — a tendency, not a skill. 汚れやすい isn't "easy to dirty" but "gets dirty easily." Watch which sense the subject invites:
ヤッタンのペンはとても書きやすい。
ヤッタンの ペンは とても かきやすい。
Yattan's pen is really easy to write with.
白いシャツは汚れやすいです。
しろい シャツは よごれやすいです。
White shirts get dirty easily.
Not 'easy to dirty' but 'prone to getting dirty.'
モチは風邪をひきやすい。
モチは かぜを ひきやすい。
Mochi catches colds easily.
にくい: when the action resists
にくい runs the opposite way: the action is difficult, awkward, or unlikely to happen — the thing resists being done. Mind the direction against やすい, since it flips the meaning entirely: 割れやすい is "breaks easily," while 割れにくい is "doesn't break easily."
この肉は固くて食べにくい。
この にくは かたくて たべにくい。
This meat is tough and hard to eat.
ヤッタンの弟は名前が覚えにくい。
ヤッタンの おとうとは なまえが おぼえにくい。
Yattan's little brother has a name that's hard to remember.
この薬は子供には飲みにくいです。
この くすりは こどもには のみにくいです。
This medicine is hard for children to swallow.
The essentials at a glance
- ます-stem + やすい = easy to do / tends to happen.
- ます-stem + にくい = hard to do / difficult to do.
- The result is an い-adjective: 読みやすかった, 読みにくくない — conjugate the tail (くない, かった), never the verb.
- Both describe an inherent quality of the thing or action.
- Use the stem, never the dictionary form; and keep the direction straight — 割れやすい (breaks easily) vs 割れにくい (doesn't break easily).
Practice it
Choose the correct やすい / にくい form for each verb.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
Choose the grammar pattern that best completes the sentence.
プラスチックは割れ＿＿＿。
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between やすい and にくい?
やすい means an action is easy to do or tends to happen (読みやすい = easy to read). にくい means it's hard or difficult to do (読みにくい = hard to read). They are direct opposites attached to the same ます-stem.
Do I use the dictionary form or the ます-stem?
Always the ます-stem. Make the ます-form, drop ます, then add やすい or にくい: 食べます → 食べ → 食べやすい. Never attach it to the plain dictionary form.
How do I make やすい・にくい negative or past?
Treat the whole word as an い-adjective. 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. The original verb's conjugation no longer applies.
Does やすい always mean 'easy'?
Often it means 'easy to do,' but it also means 'tends to' or 'happens readily': 割れやすい = breaks easily, 汚れやすい = gets dirty easily. Context tells you which sense fits.
Where 〜やすい・〜にくい fits
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