易い · i-adjective
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 易い | 易くない |
| Polite | 易いです | 易くないですalso 易くありません |
| Past polite | 易かったです | 易くなかったですalso 易くありませんでした |
| Past | 易かった | 易くなかった |
| Te-form | 易くて | 易くなくて |
| Adverbial | 易く | |
| Conditional | 易ければ | 易くなければ |
| Tara conditional | 易かったら | 易くなかったら |
Standalone adjective meaning something is easy to do or understand. Often used in the pattern 〜が易しい, but 易い is a slightly more literary or formal variant compared to 易しい (やさしい).
この問題は易い。
This problem is easy.
I chose the easy path.
likely to ...; have a tendency to ...
Attaches to the -masu stem of verbs to express that something tends to happen or is prone to happening. Often implies an undesirable or unintentional tendency.
彼は忘れっぽくて、約束を忘れやすい。
He is forgetful and tends to forget promises.
このガラスは割れやすい。
This glass breaks easily.
easy to ...
Attaches to the -masu stem of verbs to express that something is easy to do. Unlike sense 2, this sense focuses on the ease of performing the action, not a tendency.
このペンは書きやすい。
This pen is easy to write with.
この靴は歩きやすい。
These shoes are easy to walk in.
This book is easy to read.
brittle; fragile; easily broken