読よみにくい

よ

み

に

く

い

読みにくい · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	読よみにくい	読よみにくくない
Polite	読よみにくいです	読よみにくくないですalso 読よみにくくありません
Past polite	読よみにくかったです	読よみにくくなかったですalso 読よみにくくありませんでした
Past	読よみにくかった	読よみにくくなかった
Te-form	読よみにくくて	読よみにくくなくて
Adverbial	読よみにくく
Conditional	読よみにくければ	読よみにくくなければ
Tara conditional	読よみにくかったら	読よみにくくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective

hard to read; illegible

Describes text that is difficult to read due to handwriting, font, complexity, or poor condition.

このメモは字じが汚きたなくて読よみにくい。
This note is hard to read because the handwriting is messy.
小ちいさい文も字じは読よみにくいので、拡かく大だいしてください。
Small text is hard to read, so please enlarge it.

See all 89 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が読よみにくい(text/writing) is hard to read
この本ほんは字じが小ちいさくて読よみにくい。
This book's print is small and hard to read.
読よみにくい字じhandwriting or print that is hard to decipher
彼かれの読よみにくい字じを解かい読どくするのに時じ間かんがかかった。
It took time to decipher his hard-to-read handwriting.

Kanji

読read
悪bad, vice, rascal
難difficult, impossible, trouble

Related words

読よみづらい
読みにくい is a neutral statement of difficulty in reading, while 読みづらい adds a nuance of personal discomfort or strain in the act of reading.

Opposites

読よみやすい
読みにくい describes text that is hard to read, while 読みやすい describes text that is easy and clear to read.

Don't confuse with

わかりにくい
読みにくい means the text is hard to physically read (illegible or hard to decipher), whereas 分かりにくい means the content is hard to understand even if it can be read fine.

Written forms

読よみにくい
Standard and most common spelling. Uses にくい for 'difficult to'.
読よみ悪にくい
Rare variant using 悪い; may be encountered but is not standard.
読よみ難にくい
Uses 難い for 'difficult'; less common than 読みにくい but still seen.

Etymology

Compound of 読み (the continuative form of 読む 'to read') + にくい ('difficult to'). The にくい suffix attaches to verb stems to express that an action is hard to perform.