-기(가) 쉽다/어렵다

How to use it

Evaluates how easy or hard an action is. The -기 form is the subject, so 가 can follow it (읽기가 쉬워요). 편하다, 좋다, 힘들다, 불편하다 work the same way.

Forming it

쉽다/어렵다 are ㅂ-irregular: 쉬워요, 어려워요. -기 쉽다 can also mean 'be likely to' (something bad): 겨울에는 감기에 걸리기 쉬워요.

Examples

• 이 책은 글씨가 커서 읽기 쉬워요.

  This book has big letters, so it's easy to read.

• 말이 너무 빨라서 듣기가 어려워요.

  They talk so fast that it's hard to understand.

Compared with similar patterns

-기 is the nominalizer behind many set patterns like this one; -는 데 is used with 좋다/걸리다/쓰다 to mean 'for doing' (건강에 좋다 vs 다이어트하는 데 좋다).

Related patterns

• -기 nominalizer -ing (in set phrases, hobbies, skills, lists)
• -는 데 in doing, for (doing) — with time, cost, use, help