Yasui, Nikui and Zurai: Easy and Hard to Do in Japanese

Easy to understand, hard to hear, uncomfortable to say: three short endings turn any verb into a judgement, and they are everywhere in reviews, feedback and everyday complaints.

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What you need to know

Yasui, Nikui and Zurai: Easy and Hard to Do in Japanese

Yasui and nikui attach to the masu stem of a verb to mean easy to do and hard to do. Zurai also means hard to do, but it stresses the discomfort of the person doing it. All three then behave like i-adjectives, so you can make them negative, past, adverbial or put them before a noun. This guide covers how they attach, the difference between nikui and zurai, the second meaning of yasui as prone to, and the phrases you will hear most in product and feedback talk.

Masu stem plus yasui means easy to do; plus nikui means hard to do

Zurai means hard to do because it is uncomfortable for the person

All three conjugate like i-adjectives: yasukatta, nikukunai, yasuku

Yasui can also mean prone to, as in kowareyasui, easily broken

One stem, three judgements

Take the masu form, remove masu, and add the ending. Yomimasu becomes yomi, and from there yomiyasui, easy to read, yominikui, hard to read, and yomizurai, uncomfortable or hard to read, for example because the print is tiny.

The result is an adjective describing the thing being read, used or heard, so the object usually becomes the topic with wa or the subject with ga.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
この字は読みやすいです。Kono ji wa yomiyasui desu.This handwriting is easy to read.
この道は歩きにくいです。Kono michi wa arukinikui desu.This road is hard to walk on.
この靴は歩きづらいです。Kono kutsu wa arukizurai desu.These shoes are uncomfortable to walk in.
先生の説明はわかりやすいです。Sensei no setsumei wa wakariyasui desu.The teacher's explanations are easy to understand.

They conjugate like i-adjectives

Because the endings are i-adjectives, every form you know for takai or oishii works here. That matters in conversation, where you often need the past, the negative, or the adverb form rather than the dictionary form.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
昨日の試験は答えにくかったです。Kinō no shiken wa kotaenikukatta desu.Yesterday's exam was hard to answer.
この椅子は座りやすくないです。Kono isu wa suwariyasukunai desu.This chair is not easy to sit in.
もう少しわかりやすく話してください。Mō sukoshi wakariyasuku hanashite kudasai.Please speak a little more clearly.
使いやすいアプリを探しています。Tsukaiyasui apuri o sagashite imasu.I am looking for an app that is easy to use.
FormPatternMeaning
NegativeStem + yasukunaiNot easy to do
PastStem + nikukattaWas hard to do
AdverbStem + yasukuIn a way that is easy to do
Te formStem + nikukuteHard to do, and so
Before a nounStem + yasui + nounA thing that is easy to do

Nikui or zurai?

Both endings translate as hard to do, and in many sentences either is acceptable. The difference is where the difficulty sits. Nikui describes a difficulty that is simply there: small print is hard to read, a fast speaker is hard to catch. Zurai describes a difficulty the person feels: shoes that hurt, a subject that is awkward to raise, a place that is uncomfortable to live in.

That is why zurai is so common with saying and asking. The words are not hard to produce; it is hard to bring yourself to say them.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
この話はちょっと言いづらいんですが…Kono hanashi wa chotto iizurai n desu ga…This is a little awkward for me to say, but…
上司に聞きにくいことがあります。Jōshi ni kikinikui koto ga arimasu.There are things that are hard to ask my manager.
このペンは太くて書きづらいです。Kono pen wa futokute kakizurai desu.This pen is thick and uncomfortable to write with.
この部屋は暗くて字が見にくいです。Kono heya wa kurakute ji ga minikui desu.This room is dark, so it is hard to see the writing.

Yasui as prone to

With verbs for things that happen on their own, yasui changes meaning from easy to prone to, and nikui means resistant to. Breaking, getting dirty, catching a cold and forgetting all work this way.

This use is common in product descriptions and health talk, and it explains phrases that would sound strange if yasui only meant easy.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
このコップは割れやすいです。Kono koppu wa wareyasui desu.This glass breaks easily.
白い服は汚れやすいです。Shiroi fuku wa yogoreyasui desu.White clothes get dirty easily.
冬は風邪をひきやすいです。Fuyu wa kaze o hikiyasui desu.It is easy to catch a cold in winter.
このバッグは汚れにくい素材です。Kono baggu wa yogorenikui sozai desu.This bag is made of a stain-resistant material.
名前を忘れやすいんです。Namae o wasureyasui n desu.I tend to forget names.

The phrases you will hear in reviews and feedback

Product reviews, app store comments, workplace feedback and teacher evaluations lean heavily on these endings, because they give a judgement without sounding personal. Saying something is hard to use criticises the design, not the designer.

A small set of combinations covers most of what you will read and hear.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
わかりやすいwakariyasuiEasy to understand
使いやすいtsukaiyasuiEasy to use
読みにくいyominikuiHard to read
聞き取りにくいkikitorinikuiHard to catch or hear clearly
持ちやすいmochiyasuiEasy to hold or carry
入りにくいhairinikuiHard to walk into, for a shop that feels unwelcoming

Minikui written as 見にくい means hard to see. Written as 醜い it means ugly. In speech, context almost always makes the meaning clear, but it is worth knowing why a native speaker might smile at it.

Giving feedback without sounding blunt

Because these endings describe the experience rather than the person, they are the standard way to give critical feedback politely. Instead of saying a colleague's slides are bad, you say they are a little hard to read. Instead of saying a speaker is unclear, you say the audio was hard to catch.

Add chotto and a suggestion, and the feedback becomes a request that is easy to accept.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
この資料、字が小さくてちょっと読みにくいです。Kono shiryō, ji ga chiisakute chotto yominikui desu.The text on these slides is small and a little hard to read.
音声が少し聞き取りにくかったです。Onsei ga sukoshi kikitorinikukatta desu.The audio was a little hard to catch.
もう少しゆっくり話していただけると、わかりやすいです。Mō sukoshi yukkuri hanashite itadakeru to, wakariyasui desu.It would be easier to understand if you could speak a little more slowly.
Key points

A practical way to improve

Pick three things you use every day, such as your phone, a pen and a bag, and say one sentence with yasui and one with nikui about each. Then try a feedback conversation: tell your AI Sensei in Unihongo's 3D classroom what makes a lesson easy or hard to follow, using wakariyasui and kikitorinikui. The session report will show whether the endings came out correctly under pressure.

  1. 1

    Choose one clear goal

    Focus each session on a situation or skill you can actually use.

  2. 2

    Practice actively

    Say complete answers aloud instead of only reading or recognizing Japanese.

  3. 3

    Review and repeat

    Keep useful corrections and revisit the same skill until it feels natural.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is this yasui the same word as yasui meaning cheap?

It sounds the same, but the grammar tells you which one it is. Cheap stands alone as an adjective: kono kaban wa yasui. Easy to do always follows a verb stem: kono kaban wa tsukaiyasui. In writing, cheap is 安い, while the ending is usually written in hiragana as やすい.

What is the difference between nikui and zurai?

Both mean hard to do. Nikui focuses on the difficulty itself, often something about the object or situation. Zurai focuses on how uncomfortable it is for the person doing it, physically or emotionally. Iinikui and iizurai both mean hard to say, but iizurai leans more towards feeling awkward about saying it.

Can I use yasui and nikui with any verb?

With most verbs that describe an action someone does, yes. With changes that happen on their own, such as breaking or getting dirty, yasui means prone to and nikui means resistant to. Zurai sounds odd with those, because nobody is uncomfortable doing them.

How do I say something is easy to understand?

Wakariyasui desu. For explanations, setsumei ga wakariyasui desu. To ask someone to explain more simply, mō sukoshi wakariyasuku setsumei shite itadakemasu ka uses the adverb form yasuku.

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