# 読みやすい



## yan3czka

Hello. Recently I've become very motivated to take my Japanese to a whole new level so I've started reading a lot in Japanese. When I talk to my Japanese friends about books I'm reading they sometimes say that the book I'm talking about is 読みやすい. I think it may be a problem of cultural differences but I really can't tell whether it is a good thing or a bad thing for a book to be 読みやすい. Are they trying to say that, for example, the book I'm reading right now (『容疑者Xの献身』by  東野圭吾) is childish and is something what a foreigner who barely knows the language would choose to read or do they mean that it's simply a pleasant read? I'm sorry if my question seems strange to you but I was raised in a culture where saying that something is "easy to read" could very well work as criticism of the book or the reader's skill. Being afraid of a book being called 読みやすい has actually made me quite afraid of reading at all.


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## Contrafibularity

Welcome to the Japanese forum, yan3czka

Although 読みやすい could imply criticism depending on context, I guess they just meant the book is a pleasant read.  When you read a novel and get drawn into the story, it doesn't take long to get to the end.   I may also say a Sherlock Holmes novel is 読みやすい not because it's too easy but because it's fun and you finish it instantly. Besides, 東野圭吾 is one of the most popular novelists in Japan and is being read by many Japanese too, so I doubt they said it to disparage a foreigner.


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## yan3czka

Ok, I'm convinced. Thank you.


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## gengo

I sort of disagree with the above reply.  To me it simply means that the book is easy to read, that it probably doesn't use extremely eloquent language or arcane kanji.  It's written in normal, everyday Japanese, with fairly simple grammar and sentences that aren't too long.  That is not a criticism at all, just a description.

I remember many years ago a friend recommended that I improve my Japanese reading skills by reading ピーナッツの対訳, because it was very 読みやすい.  My friend wasn't saying anything negative about the books.


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## SoLaTiDoberman

I think #2 and #4 meant the same thing.
Is the "criticism" in #1 and #2 typo for "sarcasm"?
Anyway, in this context, it would not be criticism/sarcasm.

I'd feel more sarcastic tone if you hear この本は　*やさしすぎるから、（やすすぎるから、簡単だから、やさしいから、やすいから）、*あなたにお勧めだよ, although it still depends on the context and background.
読みやすいから and やすいから has a very different tone, IMHO.


By the way,「小学低学年用のイソップ物語」などが読みやすいからあなたにお勧めだよ。
In this context, 読みやすい would probably mean "childish."　
It depends on the context.

In your context,  『容疑者Xの献身』by 東野圭吾 , it's obvious that it's NOT CHILDISH.


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## gengo

SoLaTiDoberman said:


> ...やすいから）、...
> 
> 読みやすいから and やすいから ha*ve* a very different tone, IMHO.



やすいから?  

That would mean "Since it's cheap."


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## candlewick

gengo said:


> やすいから?
> 
> That would mean "Since it's cheap."



I suppose it's 易い (easy)　not 　安い(cheap).


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## gengo

candlewick said:


> I suppose it's 易い (easy)　not 　安い(cheap).



易い is only used as a suffix, not as a stand-alone word.  If you say やすいから, it will always be understood as "since it's cheap."


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## candlewick

Well, I wouldn't really agree.

From Kotobank:

易い
*１ 行うのがやさしい。たやすい。「言うだけならいとも―・いことだ」
２* 動詞の連用形に付く。

Anyway, #5 seems to be a native Japanese speaker.


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## gengo

candlewick said:


> 易い
> *１ 行うのがやさしい。たやすい。「言うだけならいとも―・いことだ」
> ２* 動詞の連用形に付く。



That doesn't contradict what I said.



> Anyway, #5 seems to be a native Japanese speaker.



Non-natives often comment on my statements about English grammar in these forums, and sometimes they are right and I'm wrong.  Happens all the time.  When the poster in #2 said that 読みやすい can mean that a book is fun to read, that is perfectly true, but in the context of the OP's situation, I don't believe that that is the correct interpretation, and instead believe it simply means that the books are easy to read and understand for a non-Japanese.


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## candlewick

gengo said:


> That doesn't contradict what I said.



Maybe I don't understand something but for me the example sentece「言うだけならいとも―・いことだ」 is a clear example of 易い being used as a stand-alone word, while you said that it can only be used as a suffix. Could maybe someone else clarify because now I'm really curious? I mean, it seems to me that I often hear people saying やすい instead of 簡単 but maybe it's a regional thing?


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## Flaminius

Hi, *candlewick*.

I find いともやすい to be outdated as an expression in the Standard Japanese.  As a long-time resident in the greater Tokyo area, I won't paraphrase やさしすぎる with やすすぎるから or やすいから (cf. *SLTD* #5).  Stand-alone やすい in sense of being easy is a fossilised expression at best, and won't produce expressions like so.



candlewick said:


> I often hear people saying やすい instead of 簡単 but maybe it's a regional thing?


I think so.  Maybe you can provide us with an example?


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