The Difference Between「〜やすい」と「〜にくい」の違い

Joy reading easily [Yasui] vs. Joy struggling to read [Nikui]

“This pen is easy to write with.” “This meat is hard to eat.”
In Japanese, you can combine verbs with 〜やすい (Yasui) and 〜にくい (Nikui) to express “easy” or “hard” to do something. Let’s learn this useful N4 grammar!

🗣 Conversation Scene

Joy bought a new pen and is showing it to Ken.

Joy

ケンさん、見てください！新しいペンを買いました。
とても書きやすいですよ。
(Ken, look! I bought a new pen. It is very “easy to write” with.)

Ken

いいですね。私のペンはインクが古（ふる）くて、書きにくいです…。
(That’s nice. My pen has old ink, so it is “hard to write” with…)

💡 Explanation

To make these forms, use the Verb Stem (Masu-form without Masu).

Point 1: 〜やすい (Yasui) = Easy to …

Verb Stem + Yasui. It means something is easy to do, or likely to happen.

この靴（くつ）は歩（ある）きやすいです。
(These shoes are easy to walk in.)
先生（せんせい）の説明（せつめい）は分（わ）かりやすいです。
(The teacher’s explanation is easy to understand.)

Point 2: 〜にくい (Nikui) = Hard to …

Verb Stem + Nikui. It means something is difficult to do, or unlikely to happen.

箸（はし）は食（た）べにくいです。
(Chopsticks are hard to eat with.)
この漢字（かんじ）は覚（おぼ）えにくいです。
(This Kanji is hard to memorize.)

📊 Comparison / Common Mistake

Expression	Meaning	Example (Drink)
〜やすい (Yasui)	Easy to do	飲みやすい (Nomi-yasui)
〜にくい (Nikui)	Hard to do	飲みにくい (Nomi-nikui)

🚧 Joy’s Mistake

❌ Wrong: この本（ほん）は 読むのが難しい です。
(Grammatically correct, but long.)

✅ Better: この本（ほん）は 読（よ）みにくい です。
(Using “Nikui” is more natural for describing the quality of the book.)

🔥 Practice Quiz

Tap to check the answer!

Q1. This glass is slippery, so it is hard to hold.
(Kono gurasu wa suberu node, mochi-______ desu.)

Answer: nikui (にくい)
Holding is difficult ➔ Mochi-nikui.

Q2. Hiragana is simple, so it is easy to write.
(Hiragana wa simple na node, kaki-______ desu.)

Answer: yasui (やすい)
Writing is easy ➔ Kaki-yasui.

Q3. This medicine is sweet, so it is easy to drink.
(Kono kusuri wa amai node, nomi-______ desu.)

Answer: yasui (やすい)
Drinking is easy ➔ Nomi-yasui.

Keep practicing with JPLT!