Structure
Verb［stem］+ にくい
Details
Standard
About にくい
Like 易い, にくい is an い-Adjective that is regularly attached to the ます stem of verbs. However, instead of meaning 'easy to (A)', it means 'difficult to (A)'. (A) will always represent the verb that comes before にくい.
The nuance of にくい is that (A) is a task that is difficult to do, because of the required skill level, or similar factors. This is different from づらい, which focuses more on a task that is difficult due to being unbearable/hard to endure for some reason.
Fun Fact
An easy way to remember the difference in nuance between にくい and づらい, is that にくい comes from the same kanji as 難しい, which usually carries the meaning of 'difficulty' (in relation to skill being required).
Antonyms
Related
Vocab Coverage
All Bunpro Vocab that appears on this item.
Examples
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甘くないケーキは、食べにくいです。
Cakes that aren't sweet are hard to eat.
アフリカには行きにくいです。
It is hard to go to Africa.
怖いことはしにくいです。
It is difficult to do scary things.
あの人とは話しにくいです。
That person is hard to talk to. (Unapproachable)
このコップ、形が変だから飲みにくい。
Because this cup has a strange shape, it is hard to drink out of.
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Self-Study Sentences
Online
V + やすい & V + にくい
MaggieSensei
Offline
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 16
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 307
Genki II 1st Edition
Page 163
Genki II 2nd Edition
Page 193
Genki II 3rd Edition
Page 190
Marugoto Elementary 2 (A2) Rikai
114
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 275
みんなの日本語 II
Page 120 [CH 44]
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にくい – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (6 in total)
m0g
Thanks for your comment! I came here because my first quiz question for にくい was the cake example (“甘くないケーキは、食べ______です” - “Cakes that aren’t sweet are hard to eat”), and I was immediately confused given づらい seemed to fit better with what was just explained in the lessons for the two items. Eg. I’m thinking, “cake being sweet or not does not effect the skill/experience/etc required to eat it, so this must be about the painful experience of eating a not-sweet cake - therefore, づらい”.
To try and make sure I understand your point of some of the added nuance not mentioned in the grammar points, comparing the cake example:
“甘くないケーキは、食べにくいです” has a meaning along the lines of “a cake that is not sweet is hard to eat (implied: because it is not a good cake)”?
Whereas “甘くないケーキは、食べづらいです” could also be appropriate, but the meaning would be more along the lines of “a cake that is not sweet is hard to eat (implied: because it’s unenjoyable)”?
The main t...
jesse_dylan
Woof, speaking of difficulty, the example sentences really got bumped up a notch. I don’t want to stop learning grammar just because my reading ability isn’t quite there yet; that’s part of why I’m studying grammar. Speaking of nikui… Chotto yominikui da!
gews
thats a nice one