やりにくい

や

り

に

く

い

Meanings

1

i-adjective

hard to do; difficult; awkward; tricky

usually written using kana alone

Describes a task or situation that is physically or psychologically awkward, uncomfortable, or hard to carry out smoothly. Often implies resistance or a lack of ease rather than sheer impossibility.

このハサミは左ひだり利ききにはとてもやりにくい。
These scissors are really awkward for a left-handed person to use.

上じょう司しの前まえでそんな話はなしをするのはやりにくい。

It's awkward to bring up that topic in front of the boss.

Written forms

やり難にくい
Kanji spelling using 難い; less common than kana but still encountered.
遣やり難にくい
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

Kanji

難difficult, impossible, trouble
遣dispatch, despatch, send

Similar words

難むずかしい
難しい means 'difficult' in a general intellectual or problem-solving sense, while やりにくい focuses on physical or social awkwardness and resistance to smooth execution.
しにくい
しにくい is a more general suffix meaning 'hard to do' attached to verb stems, whereas やりにくい specifically uses the verb やる and often carries a nuance of awkwardness or discomfort.

Etymology

Compound of the verb stem やり (from やる, 'to do') + にくい ('difficult to, hard to'). The combination is transparent and follows a productive pattern.