Learn Japanese fast! Some things in life are easy and others are difficult. It can be easy to cook a simple meal, but really hard to get up early in the morning. Imagine trying to speak English without being able to express “it’s easy” and “it’s hard”. It would be almost impossible! In this Japanese for Beginners article, you will learn how to express that something is “easy to do” or “difficult to do” in Japanese. You will discover the various masu Japanese word forms you will need. Plus, you’ll find all kinds of example sentences that you can incorporate into your everyday Japanese.
Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:
anata – “you”
kaw – “buy” (class 1 verb)
karui – “light” (final adjective -i)
haku – “put on shoes/footwear” (class 1 verb)
ninki – “popularity”
deru – “appear, come out, come out” (class 2 verb)
dooshite – “why, for what reason”
kanashii – “sad” (final adjective -i)
healthy – “autograph, signature”
kaku – “write” (class 1 verb)
kutsu – “shoes, footwear”
Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:
Vocabulary and useful phrases
haku – “wear, wear” (class 1 verb)
Kiru it also means “to wear” or “to put on”. Generally speaking, we use Kiru when talking about articles that are placed on the upper part of the body, such as shirts or jackets, while haku covers items worn on the lower body, such as pants or shoes.
The opposite action, “take off”, is noguthat we use for both upper and lower body.
examples
- “wear jeans”? jiinzu or haku
- “wear slippers”? suniikaa or haku
- “wear a coat”? kooto o kiru
- “wear a kimono”? kimono or kiru
Kochira ni sane or onegai shimasu.
“Sign here please.”
In Japanese, healthy means “signature” or “autograph”.
“Firm” – healthy gold shomei
“Autograph” – wholesome
shitsurei shimashita.
shitsurei means “rudeness” or “discourtesy”. Shimashita is the formal past form of the verb Of course. So, this phrase literally means “I was rude” and is equivalent to “I’m sorry” or “Excuse me” in English.
target phrase
Kono kutsu wa karukute, haki yasui desu yo.
“These shoes are light and easy to put on.”
Kono pen wa kakinikui.
“It’s hard to write with this pen.”
The use of adjective-forming suffixes –yasui and –nikui is today’s target grammar point. [masu stem of a verb] + yasui and [masu stem of a verb] + nikui mean “easy to do” and “hard to do”, respectively. They are conjugated as i-adjectives.
“Easy to do” and “Hard to do”
- [masu stem of a verb] + yasui = “easy to…”
- [masu stem of a verb] + nikui = “difficult (or difficult) to…”
Class 1 verbs
“English” / Dictionary Form / Masu form / Masu Stem / “Easy to…” (…yasui) / “Hard to…” (…nikui)
“use” / tsukau / tsukaimasu / tsukai / tsukaiyasui / tsukainikui
“to write” / kaku / kakimasu / khaki / kakiyasui / kakinikui
“speak” / hanasoo / hanashimasu / hanashi / hanashiyasui / hanashinikui
“hold” / motsu / mochimasu / mochi / mochiyasui / mochinikui
“to live” / his MU / sumimasu / sumi / sumiyasui / suminikui
“sit down” / suwaru / suwarimasu / suwari / suwariyasui / swarinikui
Class 2 verbs
“English” / Dictionary Form / Masu form / Masu Stem / “Easy to…” (…yasui) / “Hard to…” (…nikui)
“to see” / look / mimasu / means, medium / miyasui / minikui
“use” / Kiru / kimasu / whose / kiyasui / kinikui
“eat” / taberu / tabemasu / desk / tabeyasui / tabenikui
Class 3 verbs
“English” / Dictionary Form / Masu form / Masu Stem / “Easy to…” (…yasui) / “Hard to…” (…nikui)
“to do” / Of course / shimasu / Shi / shiyasui / shinikui
“come” / kuru / kimasu / whose / kiyasui / kinikui
examples
- Hawaii wa totemo sumiyasui tokoro desu. Hawaii is a pretty available place.
- Tookyoo wa totemo suminikui tokoro desu. Tokyo is a very difficult place to live.>
- Kono kutsu wa omokute, arukinikui desu. These shoes are heavy and hard (uncomfortable) to walk on.i>
- Kono kutsu wa karukute, arukiyasui desu. These shoes are light and easy (comfortable) to walk on.
practice
Complete the sentences changing the verbs to their proper forms.
- Kono ji wa chiisakute,___________________________(yomu). (I means “letter”).
- Suniikaa wa,___________________________(haku). (suniikyy means, “slippers”).
- Kono michi wa hirokute,___________________________ (spread safe). (michi means “street”. hiroi means “width”. spread safe means, “driving”).