Breakdown of kono tizu ha wakariyasui desu.
はha
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
このkono
this
地図tizu
map
〜やすい〜yasui
to be easy to
分かるwakaru
to understand
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have hundreds of Japanese lessons and thousands of exercises.
Questions & Answers about kono tizu ha wakariyasui desu.
What does この mean in this sentence?
この is a demonstrative adjective meaning this. It directly modifies the noun 地図 to point out a specific map that is near the speaker or already under discussion.
Why is it この地図 instead of これの地図?
この attaches directly to a noun to form this _, whereas これ is a standalone pronoun meaning this one and cannot take の to modify another noun. Therefore, you say この地図, not これの地図.
What does the particle は do here?
は marks 地図 as the topic of the sentence. It signals “as for this map…,” setting the stage for the comment that follows (that it is 分かりやすい).
What kind of word is 分かりやすい, and how is it formed?
分かりやすい is an i-adjective. It’s built from the verb stem 分かり (from 分かる, to understand) plus the adjective 易い (literally easy to do). Combined, they mean easy to understand.
Why is です added at the end, and what level of politeness does it convey?
です is the polite copula used in formal or polite speech. Adding です to the adjective makes the sentence polite:
この地図は分かりやすいです (This map is easy to understand).
In casual conversation, you can omit です:
この地図は分かりやすい.
How would you change this sentence to negative or past tense?
Negative (polite): replace い with く and add ありません
- この地図は分かりやすくありません (This map is not easy to understand)
Negative (casual): use the antonym にくい
- この地図は分かりにくい (This map is hard to understand)
Past (polite): change い to かった and add です
- この地図は分かりやすかったです (This map was easy to understand)
Past (casual): drop です
- この地図は分かりやすかった
How would you say an easy-to-understand map as a noun phrase?
Place the adjective before the noun:
分かりやすい地図 (an easy-to-understand map).
If you want to specify this easy-to-understand map, add この:
この分かりやすい地図.