にくい

• Reading: にくい
• Romaji: nikui
• Pronunciation: /ni.kɯ.i/

Meaning

Hard to; difficult to. A suffix attached to verb stems to express difficulty.

An i-adjective suffix attached to the masu-stem of verbs to create compound adjectives meaning 'hard/difficult to do.' For example: 読みにくい (hard to read), 食べにくい (hard to eat), 分かりにくい (hard to understand). The opposite suffix is やすい (easy to). Conjugates as a regular i-adjective: にくかった (was hard to), にくくない (not hard to).

Examples

1. この字は小さくて読みにくいです。 This text is small and hard to read.
2. 箸で豆を食べるのは食べにくいです。 Eating beans with chopsticks is hard to do.
3. この説明は分かりにくいと思います。 I think this explanation is hard to understand.

Usage Guide

Context: descriptions, complaints, evaluations

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Derives from the adjective 憎い (nikui, hateful/detestable). The connection is that something 'hateful' to do became something 'hard' to do — difficulty being an unpleasant quality. The suffix form is always written in hiragana.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal