〜にくい "hard to / difficult to"

Something is difficult to do or unlikely to happen.

V-ます stem + にくい means "hard to do" or "unlikely to happen": 飲みにくい (hard to swallow), 覚えにくい (hard to remember), 割れにくい (hard to break, i.e. sturdy). Like やすい, it makes an い-adjective: 読みにくかった, 読みにくくて. The difficulty comes from the nature of the thing (bitter, small print, complicated name), not from a rule that forbids it.

Complaints and evaluations about objects, texts and people (使いにくい, 読みにくい, 話しにくい人), and positive descriptions of durability (壊れにくい, 汚れにくい). Neutral register, everyday use.

• V-ます stem + にくい: 飲む → 飲みにくい, 覚える → 覚えにくい, 使う → 使いにくい
• Unlikely to happen: 割れる → 割れにくい, 壊れる → 壊れにくい, 燃える → 燃えにくい
• Conjugates as い-adjective: にくいです / にくかった / にくくない / にくくて / にくく
• Opposite: V-ます + やすい (lesson 84)

1. 01

   この薬は苦くて飲みにくい。

   この くすりは にがくて のみにくい。

   This medicine is bitter and hard to take.

   飲む → 飲みにくい; the reason (苦くて) is the medicine's own property.

2. 02

   彼の名前は覚えにくい。

   かれの なまえは おぼえにくい。

   His name is hard to remember.

   覚える → 覚えにくい: the name itself is complicated.

3. 03

   このコップは割れにくい。

   この コップは われにくい。

   This glass is hard to break.

   Positive use: 割れにくい = sturdy, hard to break.

4. 04

   この道は狭くて車が通りにくい。

   この みちは せまくて くるまが とおりにくい。

   This road is narrow and hard for cars to pass through.

   通る → 通りにくい; the road's narrowness is the cause.

5. 05

   このコートは汚れにくいので、通勤に便利です。

   この コートは よごれにくいので、つうきんに べんりです。

   This coat doesn't get dirty easily, so it's convenient for commuting.

   汚れる → 汚れにくい: "unlikely to", a selling point.

• 〜やすい

  The opposite: easy to do / tends to happen. Compare side by side

• 〜づらい (N3)

  Also "hard to", but because it is painful or awkward for the doer (言いづらい = awkward to say). にくい is about the thing's properties.

• 難しい

  難しい says a task is difficult in general. 〜にくい attaches to a specific verb and names what exactly is hard.

• ✗

  この字は読むにくい。

  ✓

  この字は読みにくい。

  Why

  にくい attaches to the ます-stem.

• ✗

  このかばんは壊れにくいじゃない。

  ✓

  このかばんは壊れにくくない。

  Why

  にくい is an い-adjective; the negative is にくくない.

• ✗

  外国人には日本語が話しにくい。(meaning "can't speak")

  ✓

  外国人には日本語が難しい。/ 話せない。

  Why

  にくい means the act is awkward or hard, not impossible. For inability use the potential.

壊れにくい, 割れにくい, 汚れにくい, 燃えにくい are positive qualities in product descriptions. The adverb form にくく appears in 見にくくなる (become hard to see) and 分かりにくく説明する. Between people: 話しにくい人 (hard to talk to), 頼みにくい (awkward to ask), 断りにくい (hard to refuse).