TOPIK II · LEVEL 3
-기(가) 쉽다/어렵다
-기(가) 쉽다/어렵다 means 'easy / hard to do A'; also 'likely / unlikely to happen'.
능력·허락·의무Can, may & mustHan: 쉽다 is ㅂ-irregular: ㅂ becomes 우 before a vowel → 쉬워요.
Examples
이 요리는 만들기 쉬워요.This dish is easy to make.
한국어 발음은 외국인이 하기 어려워요.Korean pronunciation is hard for foreigners.
날씨가 갑자기 추워지면 감기에 걸리기 쉬워요.When it suddenly gets cold, it's easy to catch a cold.
Don’t mix up
-기(가) 쉽다/어렵다vs-는 것이 쉽다Same meaning; -기 쉽다 is the natural, fixed pattern, -는 것이 쉽다 sounds wordier.
How to build it
V+기(가) 쉽다 / 어렵다 / 편하다 / 좋다 / 싫다
만들다 → 만들기 쉬워요, 찾다 → 찾기 어려워요
- 쉽다/어렵다 are ㅂ-irregular: 쉬워요, 어려워요.
- -기 쉽다 also means 'tend to (something bad)': 감기에 걸리기 쉬워요.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 이 문제는 풀기가 쉽어요.
Right: 이 문제는 풀기가 쉬워요.
쉽다 is ㅂ-irregular: ㅂ becomes 우 before a vowel → 쉬워요.
Practise -기(가) 쉽다/어렵다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄹ 만하다Use it to say an action is worth doing, or that something is good enough or bearable to do.
- -(으)ㄹ 필요가 있다/없다-(으)ㄹ 필요가 있다/없다 means 'it is necessary / there is no need to …'.
- -는 게 낫다-는 게 낫다 means 'it's better to A (than B)', comparing options.
- -지 않으면 안 되다-지 않으면 안 되다 is a strong 'must' (literally 'if you don't, it won't do').
- -아/어서는 안 되다-아/어서는 안 되다 means 'must not / should not do A' (prohibition).
- -아/어야겠다-아/어야겠다 shows the speaker deciding, usually right now, that something needs to be done: "I'd better…" or "I should…".
- -(으)ㅁ-(으)ㅁ turns a verb or adjective into a noun; it is used in notes, notices, memos and written records.
- -(으)며-(으)며 is a formal, written 'and' (listing) or 'while' (two actions at once).
- -(이)야-(이)야 emphasizes a topic as obvious or as the only one meant: 'as for N, of course …'.