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58. Easy & Hard

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Vocabulary

簡単 (かんたん) kantan

easy; simple

な-word

A describing word that needs な when placed before what it describes. 静かな部屋 means “quiet room.” These change differently from い-words.

Casual present
簡単だ (かんたんだ)
kantan da
この宿題は簡単だ
kono shukudai wa kantan da — This homework is easy
Formal present
簡単です (かんたんです)
kantan desu
日本語のテストは簡単です
nihongo no tesuto wa kantan desu — The Japanese test is easy
Casual negative
簡単じゃない (かんたんじゃない)
kantan ja nai
この問題は簡単じゃない
kono mondai wa kantan ja nai — This problem is not easy
Formal negative
簡単じゃないです (かんたんじゃないです)
kantan ja nai desu
仕事は簡単じゃないです
shigoto wa kantan ja nai desu — The job is not easy
Casual past
簡単だった (かんたんだった)
kantan datta
昨日のテストは簡単だった
kinou no tesuto wa kantan datta — Yesterday's test was easy
Formal past
簡単でした (かんたんでした)
kantan deshita
授業は簡単でした
jugyou wa kantan deshita — The class was easy
Casual past negative
簡単じゃなかった (かんたんじゃなかった)
kantan ja nakatta
あの本は簡単じゃなかった
ano hon wa kantan ja nakatta — That book was not easy
Formal past negative
簡単じゃなかったです (かんたんじゃなかったです)
kantan ja nakatta desu
質問は簡単じゃなかったです
shitsumon wa kantan ja nakatta desu — The question was not easy
この問題は簡単です
kono mondai wa kantan desu — This problem is easy
簡単な本を読む
kantan na hon wo yomu — I read an easy book
テストは簡単だった
tesuto wa kantan datta — The test was easy
難しい (むずかしい) muzukashii

difficult; hard

い-word

A describing word that ends in い. You change the ending to express different meanings — like 高い (expensive) becomes 高くない (not expensive).

Present
難しい (むずかしい)
muzukashii
この本は難しい
kono hon wa muzukashii — This book is difficult
Negative
難しくない (むずかしくない)
muzukashikunai
テストは難しくない
tesuto wa muzukashikunai — The test is not difficult
Formal negative
難しくないです (むずかしくないです)
muzukashikunai desu
日本語は難しくないです
nihongo wa muzukashikunai desu — Japanese is not difficult
Past
難しかった (むずかしかった)
muzukashikatta
宿題は難しかった
shukudai wa muzukashikatta — The homework was difficult
Formal past
難しかったです (むずかしかったです)
muzukashikatta desu
先週のテストは難しかったです
senshuu no tesuto wa muzukashikatta desu — Last week's test was difficult
Past negative
難しくなかった (むずかしくなかった)
muzukashikunakatta
問題は難しくなかった
mondai wa muzukashikunakatta — The problem was not difficult
日本語は難しいです
nihongo wa muzukashii desu — Japanese is difficult
この問題は難しい
kono mondai wa muzukashii — This problem is hard
難しい本を読む
muzukashii hon wo yomu — I read a difficult book
面白い (おもしろい) omoshiroi

interesting; funny

い-word

A describing word that ends in い. You change the ending to express different meanings — like 高い (expensive) becomes 高くない (not expensive).

Present
面白い (おもしろい)
omoshiroi
この映画は面白い
kono eiga wa omoshiroi — This movie is interesting
Negative
面白くない (おもしろくない)
omoshirokunai
その本は面白くない
sono hon wa omoshirokunai — That book is not interesting
Formal negative
面白くないです (おもしろくないです)
omoshirokunai desu
あの話は面白くないです
ano hanashi wa omoshirokunai desu — That story is not interesting
Past
面白かった (おもしろかった)
omoshirokatta
昨日の映画は面白かった
kinou no eiga wa omoshirokatta — Yesterday's movie was interesting
Formal past
面白かったです (おもしろかったです)
omoshirokatta desu
旅行は面白かったです
ryokou wa omoshirokatta desu — The trip was interesting
Past negative
面白くなかった (おもしろくなかった)
omoshirokunakatta
あの映画は面白くなかった
ano eiga wa omoshirokunakatta — That movie was not interesting
この映画は面白い
kono eiga wa omoshiroi — This movie is interesting
面白い話を聞く
omoshiroi hanashi wo kiku — I listen to an interesting story
あの人は面白いです
ano hito wa omoshiroi desu — That person is funny

Cultural Notes

Saying something is boring - tread carefully

Japanese speakers tend to avoid directly calling something つまらない in polite settings. Instead of saying a movie was boring to someone who recommended it, you might say ちょっと難しかった (it was a bit difficult) or just stay quiet. Being blunt about boredom can come across as rude.

面白い covers more ground than you'd expect

面白い doesn't just mean funny. It covers interesting, entertaining, amusing, and even intriguing. A documentary, a person's story, a puzzle, or a joke can all be 面白い. Think of it as "that grabbed my attention" rather than "that made me laugh."

簡単 vs やさしい - both mean easy, different feel

簡単 means easy as in simple or uncomplicated - like a recipe with three steps. やさしい (when written 易しい) means easy as in accessible or not demanding - often used when something is pitched at a lower level, like a beginner textbook or a gentle test. For most everyday "this is easy" statements, 簡単 is the go-to word.