V-stem + にくい: Beginner’s Guide to Saying “Hard to Do” in Japanese

level2 (N4)
2025.08.17

Video

Let’s watch this short video for a quick overview.

V-stem + にくい: Beginner’s Guide to Saying “Hard to Do” in Japanese
Source: gokigen japanese official YouTube Channel

Introduction

Want to say “These sneakers are hard to put on” or “That company was hard to work at”?

Use V-stem + にくい, a handy pattern that describes tasks that are difficult because of the object, situation, or environment (not your ability).

This lesson pairs with this grammar: V-stem + やすい (easy to do ~).

1. Structure & Meaning

Pattern: V-stem + にくい
Meaning: “hard/difficult to V”

  • このスニーカーは はきにくいです。
    These sneakers are hard to put on.
  • あの会社かいしゃの支店してんは 働はたらきにくかったです。
    That company branch was hard to work at.

The Japanese grammar pattern V-stem + にくい is used to express that an action is “hard to do” or “difficult to do.”

It describes the difficulty or challenge associated with performing a particular action.

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2. How to Form It

  1. Take the ます-form, drop ます → V-stem
  2. Add にくい
Dictionaryます-formStemV-stem + にくい
読よむ (to read)読みます読み読みにくい (hard to read)
使つかう (to use)使います使い使いにくい (hard to use)
話はなす (to speak)話します話し話しにくい (hard to talk/speak)
起おきる (to get up)起きます起き起きにくい (hard to get up)
住すむ (to live)住みます住み住みにくい (hard to live [in])
食たべる (to eat)食べます食べ食べにくい (hard to eat)
する (to do)しますししにくい (hard to do)

3. It Conjugates Like an i-Adjective

Because にくい behaves as an i-adjective, use regular adjective endings:

FormConjugationExample
Present (polite)〜にくいですあの町まちは住すみにくいです。
That town is difficult to live in.
Negative〜にくくないあの町は住みにくくないです。
That town is not difficult to live in.
Past〜にくかったあの町は住みにくかったです。
That town was difficult to live in.
Past negative〜にくくなかったあの町は住みにくくなかったです。
That town was not difficult to live in.
Noun-modifier〜にくい + N住みにくい町
A town that is difficult to live in

4. Examples You’ll Actually Say

この靴くつは脱ぬぎにくいです。
These shoes are hard to take off.

怖こわい先生せんせいは話はなしにくいです。
Scary teachers are hard to talk to.

漢字かんじが多おおい本ほんは読よみにくいです。
Books with lots of kanji are hard to read.

二日酔ふつかよいの日ひは起おきにくいです。
On days with a hangover, it’s hard to get up.

狭せまい家いえは生活せいかつしにくいです。
A cramped house is hard to live in.

5. Nuance & Usage Tips

  • Transitivity matters: For durability/resistance, intransitives like こわれにくい (hard to break) are common.
  • Partner grammar: The opposite is V-stem + やすい (easy to V). Use whichever matches your meaning.

Comparison of ～にくい and ～やすい

Verb
(Dictionary form)		～にくい
(hard to…)		～やすい
(easy to…)		English meaning
食たべる (to eat)食べにくい食べやすいhard/easy to eat
飲のむ (to drink)飲みにくい飲みやすいhard/easy to drink
読よむ (to read)読みにくい読みやすいhard/easy to read
書かく (to write)書きにくい書きやすいhard/easy to write
使つかう (to use)使いにくい使いやすいhard/easy to use
分わかる (to understand)分かりにくい分かりやすいhard/easy to understand
見みる (to see/look)見にくい見やすいhard/easy to see
聞きく (to listen/hear)聞きにくい聞きやすいhard/easy to hear

Pro Tip: Use -nikui for Psychological Difficulty

Beyond physical difficulty, -nikui is perfect for expressing that something is hard to do because it’s socially awkward, emotionally difficult, or uncomfortable.

Example:

上司じょうしに意見いけんを言いいにくいです。
It’s hard to state my opinion to my boss.

6. Practice Time!

Change the prompts into V-stem + にくい sentences.

CueModel answerMeaning
このパソコン／壊こわれるこのパソコンは壊れにくいです。This computer is hard to break.
靴くつ／脱ぬぐこの靴は脱ぎにくいです。These shoes are hard to take off.
難むずしい文法ぶんぽう／理解りかいする難しい文法は理解しにくいです。Difficult grammar is hard to understand.
二日酔ふつかよいの日ひ／起おきる二日酔いの日は起きにくいです。It’s hard to get up on a hangover day.
漢字かんじが多おおい本ほん／読よむ漢字が多い本は読みにくいです。A book with many kanji is hard to read.

Your turn:

  1. この箸はし／使つかう
  2. 小ちいさい文字もじ／読よむ
  3. その会社かいしゃ／働はたらく

7. Common Mistakes

❌ WrongWhy✅ Fix
この本ほんは読よみにくです。Missing い (i-adj).この本は読みにくいです。
私わたしはピアノが弾ひきにくいです。I’m not good at playing the piano.～にくい means hard to do, but here the speaker wants to say not good at.私はピアノが苦手にがてです。

8. FAQ

Q
Can I use -nikui for things that are emotionally hard to do?
A

Yes, absolutely. This is a very common and natural usage. -nikui is perfect for situations that are difficult due to social pressure, awkwardness, or psychological reasons.

  • 本当ほんとうのことは言いいにくいです。 (The truth is hard to say.)
  • 怖こわい人ひとには話はなしにくいです。 (It’s hard to talk to scary people.)
Q
I’ve heard -zurai used instead of -nikui. What’s the difference?
A

-nikui (にくい) is the general term for “hard to do.” -zurai (づらい) often implies that the difficulty involves some kind of pain, suffering, or emotional burden for the speaker. It’s more personal and subjective.

Example: きのう父親ちちおやとけんかしたので、今日きょうは気きまずくて話はなしづらいです。 (I had a fight with my father yesterday, so today I feel awkward and find it difficult to talk to him.)

Q
What is the opposite of V-nikui (hard to do)?
A

The direct opposite is V-stem + やすい (yasui), which means “easy to do.” It follows the exact same grammatical pattern.

この字じは読よみにくい。 (This handwriting is hard to read.)

この字は読みやすい。 (This handwriting is easy to read.)

Q
How do you conjugate V-nikui into its negative or past tense forms?
A

You treat it exactly like any other i-adjective (e.g., たかい takai – high, おいしい oishii – delicious).

  • Present Negative: 食たべにくくない (tabenikukunai) – It’s not hard to eat.
  • Past Tense: 食べにくかった (tabenikukatta) – It was hard to eat.
  • Past Negative: 食べにくくなかった (tabenikukunakatta) – It wasn’t hard to eat.
Q
Can I use -nikui for ability-related difficulty?
A

No, -nikui refers to difficulty caused by the object/situation, not by your ability. For ability, use 〜が苦手にがてです.

Example: わたしは数学すうがくが苦手にがてです。I’m not good at math.

9. Related Grammar (for awareness)

  • V-stem + やすい: the positive counterpart “easy to V.”
  • V-stem + づらい: casual, close in meaning to にくい (e.g., 話しづらい).
  • 難むずかしい: adjective for difficulty of content/ability (この問題もんだいは難むずかしい / this question is difficult).

Conclusion

You can now:

  • ✅ Build V-stem + にくい to say “hard to do”
  • ✅ Conjugate it like an i-adjective and modify nouns
  • ✅ Use it naturally to describe objects/places/situations that cause difficulty

Practice by rewriting three tasks or objects you found difficult this week using 〜にくい—your Japanese will sound clear and natural.

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