Onna-gokoro-wa kawariyasui. (A woman's heart is easily changed.)

Situation 1: Mr. Mita looks depressed. Mr. Sere asks why.

セレ：　 三田くん、何だか元気がないね。どうしたの？

三田：　 女心は、変わりやすいんだなあ。先週までは、ラブラブだったはずなのに...。

Sere: Mita-kun, nandaka genki-ga nai-ne. Dōshita-no?

Mita: Onna-gokoro-wa, kawariyasui-n-da-nā. Senshū-made-wa, raburabu-datta-hazuna-noni.

Sere: Mita, you look kind of depressed. What's up?

Mita: A woman's heart sure is easily changed! She and I were getting along really well until last week ...

Today we will introduce two kinds of compound adjective, Xやすい (easy to X) and Xにくい (difficult to X). To make these forms, delete ます from the verb in masu-form and attach it to やすい or にくい. For example, 変(か)わります (to change) attaches to やすい and makes the i-adjective 変わりやすい (easy to change), as in Mr. Mita's sentence in Situation 1. More examples: 食べやすいように小(ちい)さく切(き)ったほうがいい (It's better to cut it into small pieces so that you can eat it easily); 山田(やまだ)さんって、気難(きむずか)しそうに見(み)えたけど、意外(いがい)と話(はな)しやすかったよ (Mr. Yamada looked grouchy but he turned out to be easy to talk to).

Situation 2: Mr. Tian and a client, Mr. Suzuki, are talking business.

鈴木： あのう、実は、ちょっと申し上げにくいことなんですが...。

ティエン： はい、なんでしょうか。

Suzuki: Anō, jitsu-wa, chotto mōshiage-nikui koto-nan-desu-ga...

Tian: Hai, nan-deshō-ka.

Suzuki: Well, actually, there's something quite delicate I'd like to bring up ...

Tian: Yes, what might that be?

The antonym of Xやすい is Xにくい, which means that the action X is difficult to do, either physically or psychologically. Its synonym is Xづらい. Both of these are used in conversations and they are mostly interchangeable. Examples: この道路(どうろ)はカーブが多(おお)くて運転(うんてん)しにく/しづらい (Since this road has lots of curves, driving here is difficult). Xがたい has a similar meaning, but it is more formal, bookish or old-fashioned, and is used only when X is difficult to do psychologically, not physically. X in Xがたい should be a verb that has to do with cognition, as in 忘(わす)れがたい思(おも)い出(で)がある(I have a memory that I can't forget); 山田(やまだ)先生(せんせい)は偉(えら)すぎて近寄(ちかよ)りがたい (Professor Yamada is too great a person to approach).

Bonus Dialogue: At the office, Mr. Mita and Ms. Gray are moving a piece of art into the guest room.

グレイ：　 あ、こわれやすいから、気(き)をつけて。そーっと、ここに下(お)ろして。

三田：　　 うーん、確(たし)かにこわれやすそうだ。これ、どうしたの？

グレイ：　 副社長(ふくしゃちょう)がニューヨークで買(か)ってきた現代(げんだい)アートなんだけど、ご自宅(じたく)に持(も)ち帰(かえ)ったら奥様(おくさま)がいやがったから、会社(かいしゃ)に置(お)くんですって。

三田：　　 そうだろうな。こんなこわれやすそうな物(もの)、だれだって、そばに置きたくないよ。それに、こんな形(かたち)のオブジェ、どこがいいんだろう。

グレイ：　 副社長がおっしゃるには、「一般(いっぱん)の人(ひと)にはわかりにくいかもしれないが、じっくり鑑賞(かんしょう)すると、作者(さくしゃ)の高貴(こうき)な志(こころざし)と豊(ゆた)かな感性(かんせい)が感(かん)じられる」そうよ。

三田：　　 うーん、そうかなあ...？　いや、こういう形、どこかで見たことがあると思(おも)ったら、トイレの便器(べんき)の形みたいだ。こんな所(ところ)に置いて、トイレと間違(まちが)えられたら困(こま)るなあ。

グレイ：　 まさか、それはないでしょうけど、お掃除(そうじ)の人が気(き)を使(つか)うでしょうね。芸術(げいじゅつ)って、大変(たいへん)だ。

Gray: Oh, be careful — it's fragile. Please put it here gently.

Mita: Hmm, it really does look fragile. How'd it end up here?

Gray: It's a piece of modern art our vice president bought in New York. When he took it home, his wife didn't like it, so he decided to set it up at the office.

Mita: Ah, I see. No one would want to keep something so fragile near them. On top of that, what on Earth is there about the shape of this that he could have liked?

Gray: He said, "Maybe the average Joe won't get the value of this, but if you take time to appreciate it, you can feel the creator's noble intentions and rich emotion."

Mita: Hmm, is that so? Well, I knew it reminded me of something, and now I see: It's like a toilet bowl. If we leave it here, I fear someone might mistake it for one.

Gray: Come on, that's impossible! But the cleaners are bound to be nervous. Art can be a lot of trouble ...