How to tell them apart
やすい says the action is easy to perform or happens readily, while にくい says it is hard to perform or does not happen readily. The choice depends on whether the verb stem describes something that goes smoothly or meets resistance. Swapping them flips the meaning entirely: 覚えやすい means easy to remember, 覚えにくい means hard to remember, so picking the wrong one states the opposite of what you intend.
- 易い・やすい Use やすい when the action is easy to do or happens readily.
- 難い・にくい Use にくい when the action is hard to do or does not happen readily.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| 易い・やすい i yasui | Easy to do | N4 |
| 難い・にくい i nikui | Difficult to do | N4 |
易い・やすい i yasui
Easy to do
やすい describes an action that is easy to do, like 読みやすい for a book that is easy to read. It attaches to the masu-stem of a verb, so 読む becomes 読みやすい and する becomes しやすい. Once attached, it behaves like an i-adjective, conjugating to やすかった or やすくない and directly modifying nouns as in 分かりやすい説明. It shares pronunciation with 安い meaning cheap, so kanji or context shows the difference.
-
この本は読みやすい。
It is easy to read this book.
-
読みやすい本だったよ。
I found the book easy.
難い・にくい i nikui
Difficult to do
にくい expresses that an action is difficult, awkward, or unpleasant to do, often because of an external condition or property of something. It attaches to the masu-stem of a verb, as in 読みにくい or 歩きにくい, and it is usually written in hiragana. Like an i-adjective, it conjugates for tense and negation, such as にくかった or にくくない, and it can modify nouns directly.
-
コミュニケーションがとりにくい。
It's hard to communicate.
-
あなたの質問は答えにくい。
Your question is hard to answer.
易い・やすい and 難い・にくい are both JLPT N4 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side on meanings, usage and example sentences, so you can tell them apart.