Word
この 文字 は 小さくて、 読みにくい です。kono moji wa chiisakute, yominikui desu.
Meaning
These characters are small and hard to read.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of kono moji wa chiisakute, yominikui desu.
はwa
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
小さいchiisai
small
読むyomu
to read
このkono
this
〜くて〜kute
connective form
〜にくい〜nikui
to be hard to
文字moji
character
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Questions & Answers about kono moji wa chiisakute, yominikui desu.
Why does 文字 take the particle は here?
In Japanese, は marks the topic rather than the grammatical subject. この文字は means “as for these characters,” setting them up as the topic for what follows.
What is the function of the て in 小さくて?
It’s the conjunctive (連用形＋て) form of the i-adjective 小さい, used to link it smoothly to the next clause or adjective.
Could we just say 小さい without the て?
You could, but you’d need another connector (like が or a comma). Saying 小さい、読みにくいです sounds choppy. The て-form naturally joins two descriptive states.
Why does the sentence use 読みにくい instead of 読めない?
読みにくい means “hard to read” (indicates difficulty), whereas 読めない means “cannot read” (complete inability).
How is 読みにくい formed grammatically?
It’s the verb stem 読み plus the adjectival suffix にくい, which creates an adjective meaning “difficult to [verb].”
Why is there a comma after 小さくて?
Japanese commas (読点) mark a natural pause or break between clauses. It’s optional but improves readability here.
Why does the sentence end with です rather than the plain form?
です is the polite copula, making the statement polite and suitable for neutral or formal contexts.
Can we replace にくい with づらい in 読みにくい?
Yes. 読みにくい and 読みづらい are largely interchangeable, both meaning “hard to read.” づらい can carry a nuance of emotional discomfort, but in this context they function the same.