Japanese Verb Suffixes: How to Use Yasui and Nikui
Sometimes you want to describe not just an object, but the ease or difficulty of performing an action related to it. Is a book easy to read? Is a name hard to remember? The patterns 〜やすい (yasui) and 〜にくい (nikui) allow you to express this very easily.
How to Form 〜やすい / 〜にくい
The rule is incredibly simple and works for all verb groups.
The Formula
Take the verb's ます-form, drop the 「ます」, and add 「やすい」 or 「にくい」.
(This pre-ます form is called the "verb stem".)
食べます (tabemasu) → 食べ (tabe) → 食べやすい (tabeyasui)
飲みます (nomimasu) → 飲み (nomi) → 飲みにくい (nominikui)
Using 〜やすい (yasui) - "Easy to..."
This pattern indicates that an action is easy to perform, or that something is prone to happen.
この本はとても読みやすいです。(Kono hon wa totemo yomiyasui desu.)
This book is very easy to read.
大阪は住みやすいです。(Ōsaka wa sumiyasui desu.)
Osaka is easy to live in.
Using 〜にくい (nikui) - "Hard to..."
This pattern indicates that an action is difficult to perform.
彼の名前は覚えにくいです。(Kare no namae wa oboenikui desu.)
His name is hard to remember.
この薬は苦くて飲みにくいです。(Kono kusuri wa nigakute nominikui desu.)
This medicine is bitter and hard to drink.
An Important Point
Once you add 〜やすい or 〜にくい to a verb, the entire word (e.g., 食べやすい) becomes an い-adjective. This means it conjugates just like any other い-adjective!
- Past Tense: 読みやすかったです (yomiyasukatta desu) - was easy to read
- Negative: 飲みにくくないです (nominikukunai desu) - is not hard to drink
Congratulations on completing Chapter 7! You're adding great descriptive power to your Japanese.