The Difference Between「〜やすい」と「〜にくい」の違い｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)

(Joy reading an easy book [Yasui] vs. Joy struggling with a hard book [Nikui])

“This pen is easy to write with.” “This meat is hard to eat.” In Japanese, you can turn any verb into an adjective meaning “Easy to…” or “Hard to…” by adding 〜やすい (Yasui) or 〜にくい (Nikui). But be careful! “Yasui” also means “Cheap.” Let’s learn the difference with Joy and Ken.

🗣 Conversation Scene

Joy and Ken are at a steak restaurant.

Joy

う〜ん、このお肉（にく）、硬（かた）いですね…。食（た）べにくいです。 (Hmm, this meat is tough… It is “hard to eat”.)

Ken

そうですか？ハンバーグは柔（やわ）らかくて、食（た）べやすいですよ。一口（ひとくち）どうですか？ (Really? The hamburger steak is soft and “easy to eat”. Want a bite?)

💡 Explanation

Both grammar points use the Verb Stem (Masu-form without “masu”).

Point 1: 〜Yasui (〜やすい) = Easy to…

Meaning: Easy to do / Likely to happen It expresses that an action can be done without difficulty, or that something has a tendency to happen easily.

この靴（くつ）は歩（ある）きやすい。 (These shoes are easy to walk in.)
このガラスは割（わ）れやすい。 (This glass breaks easily / is fragile. [Tendency])

Point 2: 〜Nikui (〜にくい) = Hard to…

Meaning: Difficult to do / Unlikely to happen It expresses physical or psychological difficulty in doing an action.

この漢字（かんじ）は覚（おぼ）えにくい。 (This Kanji is hard to memorize.)
雨（あめ）の日は洗濯物（せんたくもの）が乾（かわ）きにくい。 (On rainy days, laundry is hard to dry / doesn’t dry easily.)

📊 Comparison Table

Connection (Verb)	Suffix	Meaning
Nomimasu ➔ Nomi	+ Yasui	Nomi-yasui (Easy to drink)
Tabemasu ➔ Tabe	+ Nikui	Tabe-nikui (Hard to eat)

🚧 Joy’s Mistake

(Joy wants to say “This book is easy to read”) ❌ Wrong: この本は 安い（やすい） です！ (Wait! That means “This book is CHEAP/Inexpensive”!) ✅ Right: この本は 読（よ）みやすい です！ (Use [Verb Stem] + yasui. Don’t use “Yasui” alone unless talking about price.)