~やすい Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Auxiliary Adjective
Essential Meaning: Easy to X / Easily X
Construction:
- Verb ます-Form + やすい
- E.g. 話しやすい [Easy to speak]
- E.g. 食べやすい [Easy to eat]
Notes:
- The auxiliary adjective ~やすい means “Easy to X“. The antonym of ~やすい is ~にくい, which means “Hard to X“. ~やすい and ~にくい are grammatically identical.
- E.g. 食べにくい [Hard to eat]
- E.g. 食べやすい [Easy to eat]
- Because ~やすい is an い-Adjective, verbs that are modified by ~やすい behave and conjugate as い-Adjectives.
- E.g. 話しやすかった。[It was easy to speak.]
- E.g. 話しやすくなかったです。[It wasn’t easy to speak.]
- If the subject of the construction Verb ます-Form + やすい is under focus in the sentence, that subject is typically marked by が or は.
- Note that other noun marking particles such as で, と (Reciprocal Relationship), に (Indirect Object), and を (Direct Object) are not used in conjunction was ~やすい. They are dropped or replaced by が or は.
- E.g. *このペンで書きやすい。[This pen is easy to write with.] で is not used in conjunction with ~やすい.
- E.g. *佐藤先生には話しやすいです。[Sato-sensei is easy to speak to.] に (Indirect Object) is not used in conjunction with ~やすい.
- E.g. *あの人のうちを見つけやすい。[That person’s house is easy to find.] を (Direct Object) is not used in conjunction with ~やすい.
- E.g. *上野さんと一緒に仕事がしやすかった。[Ueno-san was easy to work with.] と (Reciprocal Relationship) is not used in conjunction with ~やすい.
Example Sentences:
あの人のうちは見つけやすい。[That person’s house is easy to find.]
佐藤先生が話しやすいです。[Sato-sensei is easy to speak to.]
このペンは書きやすい。[This pen is easy to write with.]
上野さんは一緒に仕事がしやすかった。[Ueno-san was easy to work with.]
豆腐は腐りやすい。[Tofu spoils easily.]
WILD Examples:
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