やすい

Easy to Do

Level 2Sounds Like yasui

The suffix 〜やすい transforms a verb into an い-adjective. It describes an objective quality of an object that makes an action easy to perform, or a natural tendency for a state to occur.

How It Works

〜やすい is a highly versatile suffix that functions as an い-adjective once attached to a verb.

1. Formation:
Take the ます-stem of a verb and add やすい.

  • 読む（よむ）→ 読み（よみ）+ やすい = 読みやすい (Easy to read)
  • 食べる（たべる）→ 食べ（たべ）+ やすい = 食べやすい (Easy to eat)

2. Particle Shift & The Experiencer:
When using 〜やすい with transitive verbs, the object usually becomes the subject (は or が). To specify who finds the action easy, use the に or には particle.

  • 私にはこの本は読みやすいです (This book is easy for me to read).

3. Two Main Meanings:

  • Physical/Mental Ease: Describes how easy an action is to perform. For example, このペンは書きやすい (This pen is easy to write with).
  • Likelihood/Tendency: Describes a tendency or frequency, often referring to undesirable outcomes. For example, このコップは割れやすい（われやすい） (This glass breaks easily/is fragile).

4. Grammatical Behavior:
Because it becomes an い-adjective, it can directly modify nouns (e.g., 読みやすい本 - an easy-to-read book) and follows standard negation and past tense rules.

5. Antonym:
The direct opposite of 〜やすい is 〜にくい (hard to do).

6. Nuance:
It describes an objective attribute of the subject rather than your personal skill level.

Examples (5)

  1. この辞書は説明がシンプルで分かりやすいです。

    This dictionary's explanations are simple and easy to understand.

    Word by Word: This dictionary (topic) explanation (subject) simple being easy-to-understand is.

    Here, やすい is attached to 分かる（わかる - to understand） to describe the objective quality of the dictionary.

  2. 私には、この本は少し読みやすいです。

    For me, this book is a bit easy to read.

    Word by Word: Me for (topic), this book (topic) a little read-easy is.

    This example uses the に particle to specify the person (the experiencer) who finds the action easy.

  3. これは初心者にも使いやすいカメラですね。

    This is a camera that is easy to use even for beginners, isn't it?

    Word by Word: This (topic) beginner for even use-easy camera is, right?

    This demonstrates how やすい functions as an い-adjective to directly modify a noun (カメラ).

  4. 冬は風邪をひきやすいので、気をつけてください。

    It is easy to catch a cold in winter, so please be careful.

    Word by Word: Winter (topic) cold (object) catch-easy because, care (object) please-attach.

    This shows the 'tendency' meaning, often used for undesirable outcomes like catching a cold.

  5. 白いシャツは汚れやすいから、あまり着ません。

    White shirts get dirty easily, so I don't wear them much.

    Word by Word: White shirt (topic) get-dirty-easy because, much wear-not.

    Another example of a natural tendency. The white fabric is prone to becoming dirty.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the dictionary form instead of the ます-stem.

    この本は読むやすいです。
    この本は読みやすいです。

    You must drop the 〜る or 〜う ending and use the stem form (the form used before ます) before adding やすい.

  • Using やすい as a standalone adjective for 'easy'.

    このテストはやすいです。
    このテストは簡単です。

    やすい is a suffix and cannot be used alone to mean 'easy' (as in a simple task). For a simple task or test, use 簡単（かんたん） or 易しい（やさしい）. Note that while the kanji for 'easy' is 易い, it is usually written in hiragana to avoid confusion with 安い (cheap).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

やすいLevel 2Easy to Do

Learn This First

To use やすい, you must first know how to extract the stem of a verb using the ます form. Additionally, because the resulting word behaves like an い-adjective (e.g., for negation or past tense), you need to be familiar with い-adjective grammar.

Words in This Pattern