Learn Japanese grammar: にくい (nikui). Meaning: difficult to do ~.
Difficult To…
This is used to say that it is difficult to do something.
Add にくい to the verb’s stem form to say that action is difficult to do.
- 見る (miru) to see
- 見にくい (mi nikui) = difficult to see
Easy To…
To say the opposite, that something is “easy to do”, use やすい (yasui) instead.

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にくい - Example Sentences 例文
Each example sentence includes a Japanese hint, the romaji reading, and the English translation.
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Example #1
この質問には答えにくいです。
Example #2
この本は字が小さくて読みにくいです。
Example #3
この漢字は覚えにくいです。
Example #4
この自転車は古くて乗りにくいです。
Example #5
魚は骨が多くて食べにくいだ。
Example #6
彼の説明が難しくて分かりにくいだった。
Example #7
この道は狭くて、車も多いので、運転しにくいです。
Example #8
彼女はつき合いにくい人だ。
Vocabulary List 語彙
Kanji 漢字 | Kana カナ | English 英語 |
---|---|---|
質問 | しつもん | question |
答えにくい | こたえにくい | difficult to answer |
魚 | さかな | fish |
骨 | ほね | bone; bones |
多い | おおい | many; numerous |
食べにくい | たべにくい | difficult to eat |
本 | ほん | book |
字 | じ | characters |
小さい | ちいさい | small |
読みにくい | よみにくい | difficult to read |
彼の | かれの | his |
説明 | せつめい | explanation |
難しい | むずかしい | difficult |
分かりにくい | わかりにくい | hard to understand |
漢字 | かんじ | kanji |
覚えにくい | おぼえにくい | difficult to remember; memorize |
道 | みち | road |
狭い | せまい | narrow |
運転 | うんてん | driving |
しにくい | hard to do | |
自転車 | じてんしゃ | bicycle |
古い | ふるい | old |
乗りにくい | のりにくい | hard to ride |
彼女 | かのじょ | she |
付き合う | つきあう | to date; hang out; get along |
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