hard to do

Verb stem plus にくい means the action is difficult to do: 飲みにくい is hard to drink. It is the opposite of やすい and likewise conjugates as an i-adjective. It implies difficulty caused by the thing itself.

Examples

• この薬くすりは苦にがくて飲のみにくいです。

  Kono kusuri wa nigakute nominikui desu.

  This medicine is bitter and hard to swallow.

• 彼かれの字じは小ちいさくて読よみにくい。

  Kare no ji wa chiisakute yominikui.

  His handwriting is small and hard to read.

Vocabulary in these examples

• この this (+ noun)
• 薬 medicine
• 苦い bitter
• 飲む to drink
• 彼 he, him
• 字 character, letter, handwriting

Related patterns · Word formation

• 〜すぎる too much, excessively
• 〜やすい easy to do
• 〜さ turns adjectives into nouns (-ness)
• 〜方 way of doing, how to do