Meaning
Attaches to the verb stem and shows that an action is hard, inconvenient, or difficult to do.
Formation
- Drop ます and add にくい: 読みます → 読みにくい
- It inflects like an i-adjective
When to use it
- Core use
- Hard because of the thing itself
Example
この字は小さくて読みにくいです
This writing is hard to read because the letters are small.
Important notes
- Pay attention to the word form before the construction and to the particles around it.
Common mistakes
- Do not translate the pattern word for word; first identify its function in the whole situation.