LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Sep 30, 2026

Easy in Japanese: 簡単かんたん, 易やさしい, 楽らく — and the 優やさしい that isn''t about difficulty

"Easy" in Japanese is not one word: 簡単かんたん (かんたん) is easy because it is simple, 易やさしい (やさしい) is easy because it is not demanding, and 楽らく (らく) is easy because it takes no effort.

Dictionaries give all three the same English gloss, and that is exactly why learners grab one and use it everywhere. The three words are close, but each one is looking at a different thing: the number of steps, the level of the task, or how it feels to do it. Pick by asking what kind of easy you mean.

The basics

What is the safest way to say "easy" in Japanese?

Use 簡単かんたん(かんたん). It is a な-adjective, and it means simple, uncomplicated, few steps. When you are not sure which word to use, this is the one that is almost never wrong.

この料理りょうりは簡単かんたんです。 — This dish is easy. (polite, a recipe with few steps) 簡単かんたんな質問しつもんなので、すぐ答こたえられます。 — It's an easy question, so I can answer right away. (polite, the question is simple)

Because it is a な-adjective, it connects to a noun with な: 簡単かんたんな問題もんだい. If you mix up which adjectives take な and which do not, い-adjectives vs. な-adjectives sorts it out.

What does 易やさしい mean, and why is it confusing?

易やさしい(やさしい) is an い-adjective meaning easy in the sense of "not hard, pitched at a low level." It is the word for tests, textbooks, and explanations.

このテストは易やさしかったです。 — This test was easy. (polite, past tense, a low-level exam) もっと易やさしい日本語にほんごで説明せつめいしてください。 — Please explain it in easier Japanese. (polite request, lower the level)

The confusing part is that 易やさしい and 優やさしい(やさしい, kind, gentle)sound exactly the same. They are different words that happen to share a pronunciation. In writing, people usually avoid the problem by using hiragana for the "easy" one: やさしい問題もんだい. In speech, context does all the work, which we will get to in the mistakes section.

What about 楽らく?

楽らく(らく) is a な-adjective for effortless, comfortable, or "no strain." It is not about the task being simple. It is about it costing you little.

この仕事しごとは楽らくです。 — This job is easy. (polite, it doesn't take much effort) この椅子いすは座すわると楽らくです。 — This chair is comfortable to sit in. (polite, the body feels relaxed)

That second sentence is why 楽らく is different: 簡単かんたん could never describe a chair. 楽らく works for bodies, work, and moods.

How do the three compare at a glance?

Word Reading Part of speech What is "easy" Typical noun
簡単かんたん かんたん な-adjective The steps are few and simple 手順てじゅん, 料理りょうり, 質問しつもん
易やさしい やさしい い-adjective The level is low, not demanding テスト, 問題もんだい, 本ほん
楽らく らく な-adjective It takes little effort, feels comfortable 仕事しごと, 姿勢しせい, 気持きもち
〜やすい やすい い-adjective ending It is easy to do that verb 読よみやすい, 使つかいやすい

Beyond the basics

Where does 〜やすい fit in?

When "easy" attaches to a verb, "easy to read," "easy to use," Japanese does not use 簡単かんたん at all. It adds 〜やすい to the verb stem.

この本ほんは読よみやすいです。 — This book is easy to read. (polite, the reading goes smoothly) この辞書じしょは使つかいやすい。 — This dictionary is easy to use. (casual, plain form)

Compare 簡単かんたんな本ほん and 読よみやすい本ほん. The first is a simple book. The second is a book that reads smoothly, which can be a hard topic written clearly. Full details, including the "tends to" meaning, are in 〜やすい and 〜にくい.

How do you say "piece of cake" or "no sweat"?

Casual speech has its own vocabulary for "that was nothing."

こんなの、ちょろいよ。 — This is a piece of cake. (casual, slightly cocky) 余裕よゆう、余裕よゆう。 — No problem, easy. (casual, "I've got room to spare") 楽勝らくしょうだった。 — It was a walk in the park. (casual, a win with no effort)

ちょろい is slang, and you will hear it a lot in anime when a character brushes off a fight or a quiz. It can also describe a person who is easy to fool, as in ちょろい人ひと, so use it about tasks, not about people, unless you mean it that way. 余裕よゆう(よゆう) literally means "leeway, room to spare." Say it twice, with a grin, and it means "easy, I've got this."

What does 簡単かんたんに言いうと mean?

簡単かんたんに言いうと is "to put it simply." Here 簡単かんたんに is the adverb form of 簡単かんたん and it means "in a simple way."

簡単かんたんに言いうと、日本語にほんごの「やさしい」は二ふたつの意味いみがあります。 — To put it simply, Japanese "yasashii" has two meanings. (polite, an explainer's opener)

You will hear this constantly in news explainers and classrooms, right before someone makes a long thing short.

Can 簡単かんたん also sound negative?

Yes, and this is a place where the English "easy" hides a warning. 簡単かんたんに + a verb can mean "so easily that it's a bit careless."

簡単かんたんに言いわないでください。 — Please don't say it so lightly. (polite, a little sharp, "you make it sound easy") そんなに簡単かんたんに人ひとを信しんじてはいけません。 — You shouldn't trust people that easily. (polite, a warning)

Same word, but now the "easy" is a criticism. This is one reason 簡単かんたん is not just "the easy one."

How do you say the opposite?

The opposite of 簡単かんたん and 易やさしい is 難むずかしい(むずかしい, difficult). But "hard" in Japanese has a second branch, 大変たいへん, for things that are a lot of work or trouble, and it does not line up one-to-one with 難むずかしい. That split is the mirror image of the one in this article, and it is covered in 難むずかしい vs 大変たいへん.

この問題もんだいは簡単かんたんじゃないです。 — This problem isn't easy. (polite, a common understated way to say hard)

Common mistakes

  • Using 楽らく when you mean "simple." 楽らくな問題もんだい is possible, but it means a problem that takes little effort; for "a simple question" or "an easy test", 簡単かんたんな問題もんだい or 易やさしい問題もんだい says what you mean.
  • Confusing 楽たのしい with 楽らく. They share a kanji, but 楽たのしい(たのしい)means fun and 楽らく(らく)means effortless. 楽たのしい仕事しごと is a fun job. 楽らくな仕事しごと is an easy job, and they may not be the same job. See more of these traps in Japanese homophones.
  • Hearing やさしい and assuming "easy." If someone says 彼かれはやさしいです, it almost always means "he is kind." The person is not easy, the person is gentle. Use 易やさしい (or a clear context like a test) only when the topic is a task.
  • Putting 簡単かんたん directly before a noun without な. It is 簡単かんたんな説明せつめい, not 簡単かんたんの説明せつめい.
  • Saying 簡単かんたん about your own hard-won result. 簡単かんたんでした sounds like you are minimizing someone's effort. Say うまくいきました or 大丈夫だいじょうぶでした instead.

FAQ

Which word should a beginner learn first? 簡単かんたん. It covers most everyday cases, it is a な-adjective with a regular pattern, and it never collides with a same-sound word the way 易やさしい does.

How do you tell 易やさしい and 優やさしい apart when speaking? Context. Test, question, or book means 易やさしい. A person, a voice, or a smile means 優やさしい. If you need to be sure in writing, use the kanji.

Is 簡単かんたん the same as シンプル? They overlap, but シンプル is about design being uncluttered: シンプルなデザイン. 簡単かんたん is about ease of doing something. A single-line logo is シンプル, a one-step recipe is 簡単かんたん.

Can I say 楽らく for "easy" on a test? You can say 楽勝らくしょう, "a breeze," casually, but 楽らく alone will sound like "comfortable." For a test, 簡単かんたん or 易やさしい is safer.

Is ちょろい rude? It is casual and a bit cocky, not rude in itself. Do not use it about someone else's difficult task, and avoid it with people you should show respect to, since it treats the thing as beneath you.

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 3 and 4 are a pair, one sound and two meanings.

1. Say "This recipe is easy," and choose the word for "few, simple steps."

Show answer

このレシピは簡単かんたんです — 簡単かんたん describes a task with few, simple steps, which is what a recipe is.

2. Say "This book is easy to read," using the ending that attaches to verbs.

Show answer

この本ほんは読よみやすいです — 〜やすい goes on the verb stem 読よみ. 簡単かんたん cannot attach to a verb this way.

3. 先生せんせいの説明せつめいはやさしいです。 In a classroom, which meaning most likely fits, and which kanji?

Show answer

易やさしい — "The teacher's explanation is easy." An explanation is a task-like thing, so it points to 易やさしい. It could also be 優やさしい if the meaning is "kind."

4. 先生せんせいはやさしいです。 Which meaning and kanji?

Show answer

優やさしい — "The teacher is kind." A person is the subject, so the meaning is kind, not easy. This is the pair to question 3: same sound, different words.

5. Your back feels relaxed after sitting in a good chair. Which word: 簡単かんたん or 楽らく?

Show answer

楽らく — 楽らく covers comfort and low strain in the body. 簡単かんたん is about simple steps and never describes comfort.

6. What is wrong with 楽たのしい仕事しごと if you mean "an easy job"?

Show answer

楽たのしい means fun, not easy. The correct phrase is 楽らくな仕事しごと. The kanji is shared, but the words are different.

7. Translate "To put it simply, ..." into Japanese.

Show answer

簡単かんたんに言いうと、… — 簡単かんたんに is the adverb form of 簡単かんたん, meaning "in a simple way."

8. A friend passes a quiz easily and says it was a piece of cake. Give one casual slang word.

Show answer

ちょろい — or 楽勝らくしょう or 余裕よゆう. All three are casual. ちょろい is the slangiest and can sound cocky.

9. 簡単かんたんに言いわないでください。 Is this about an easy task, or something else?

Show answer

Something else — it means "don't say it so lightly." 簡単かんたんに + verb can criticize someone for treating a hard thing as if it were easy.

10. Fill in the opposite: 簡単かんたん ⇔ ____.

Show answer

難むずかしい — difficult. For "a lot of work or trouble," the other opposite is 大変たいへん.

In a trial lesson, say which of 簡単かんたん, 易やさしい and 楽らく fits a test, a recipe and a chair, and keep 優やさしい for people.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

簡単	かんたん — easy, simple
易しい	やさしい — easy (low level)
優しい	やさしい — kind, gentle
楽	らく — easy, effortless, comfortable
楽しい	たのしい — fun
読みやすい	よみやすい — easy to read
使いやすい	つかいやすい — easy to use
ちょろい	ちょろい — a piece of cake (slang)
余裕	よゆう — leeway, room to spare
楽勝	らくしょう — a walk in the park
簡単に言うと	かんたんにいうと — to put it simply
難しい	むずかしい — difficult
大変	たいへん — tough, a lot of trouble
問題	もんだい — problem, question
説明	せつめい — explanation

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, where "easy" turns out to be four or five different words. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

More “Describing Things: Japanese Adjectives & Opposites” articles →

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