Learn Hardcore Japanese: kono mise ha yasukute ii desu.

Link multiple adjectives:
- この店は安くて広いです。
  This shop is cheap and spacious.
Sometimes express reason/cause (depending on context):
- この店は安くて（うれしいです）。
  This shop is cheap, so I’m happy.

In この店は安くていいです, the most basic reading is “cheap and good,” but there’s also a nuance of “It’s good because it’s cheap.”

What exactly does いい mean here? Just “good”?

Literally, いい means “good,” but it’s often broader and more flexible than English good.

In 安くていいです, possible nuances include:

“good,” “nice” → It’s a good shop.
“convenient,” “favorable” → It being cheap is a good thing for me.
“okay,” “all right” (in some contexts) → This price is fine / acceptable.

Often, Japanese uses いい where English might say:

“That’s great.”
“That works well.”
“That’s convenient.”

So この店は安くていいです is not just “This shop is cheap and good,” but more like:

“This shop is nicely/pleasantly cheap.”
“This shop being cheap is really good (for me/us).”

Why is 店 read as みせ (mise) and not てん (ten) like in other words?

Kanji often have multiple readings:

音読み (Chinese-based reading): for 店 this is てん (as in 支店してん, branch store)
訓読み (native Japanese reading): for 店 this is みせ

When 店 appears alone as a common noun “shop/store,” it uses the native reading:

店 → みせ (shop, store)

When it’s part of a compound word, it often uses the Chinese-based reading:

支店 (してん) – branch store
店員 (てんいん) – store clerk

So この店 (このみせ) is the regular everyday way to say “this shop / this store.”

What is the role of は in この店は?

は is the topic marker. It shows what you’re talking about.

この店は = “As for this shop,” “Speaking of this shop,” “This shop (at least)…”

The rest of the sentence says something about that topic:

この店は　安くていいです。
As for this shop, (it) is cheap and good.

So は doesn’t mean “is.” It marks この店 as the topic of the sentence.
The idea “is” comes from the structure A は B です (“A is B”).

What’s the difference between この店は and この店が?

Both は and が can mark something like a “subject,” but their nuances differ.

この店は: topic; “as for this shop,” “this shop (on the other hand/at least)…”
この店が: subject; often used for new information, emphasizing that this shop (and not some other) is the one that is cheap and good.

Compare:

この店は安くていいです。
→ Talking about this shop in general; giving a comment or opinion about it.
(Among many shops)
この店が安くていいです。
→ This shop is the one that is cheap and good (emphasizing selection or contrast).

In beginner textbooks, you’ll usually first learn A は B です as the standard “A is B” form; が comes in later with more subtle nuance.

How is この different from これ in this sentence?

Both relate to “this,” but their grammar roles are different:

この = “this … (noun)” → needs a noun after it
- この店 – this shop
- この本 – this book
これ = “this (thing)” → stands alone as a noun
- これは本です。– This is a book.

So:

この店は安くていいです。
This shop is cheap and good.

You cannot say:
✗ これ店は安くていいです。 (wrong)
You could instead say:

これは安くていい店です。 – This is a cheap and good store.

Could I say この店は安いです instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, この店は安いです is grammatically correct and means:

“This shop is cheap.”

Differences:

この店は安いです。
Just states one quality: “It’s cheap.”
この店は安くていいです。
Adds evaluation:
- It’s cheap and (that’s) good.
- It being cheap is a good thing.

So 安くていいです is more like “nicely cheap,” “cheap in a good way / to our advantage,” whereas 安いです is a neutral description.

What grammar pattern is 安くていいです? Can I use this pattern with other adjectives?

The pattern is:

i-adjective (くて) + いいです

Take an i-adjective:
- 高い (expensive) → 高くて
- 早い (early/fast) → 早くて
- おいしい (delicious) → おいしくて
Add いいです.

Meaning: “~ and it’s good (that way),” often with a nuance of benefit, convenience, or positive evaluation.

Examples:

このペンは書きやすくていいです。
This pen is easy to write with, and that’s nice/useful.
駅から近くていいです。
It’s close to the station, which is great.

So 安くていいです fits this same pattern: cheap, in a way that’s good (for you/us).

Why is です needed here? Can I just say この店は安くていい?

です is the polite copula, making the sentence polite.

この店は安くていいです。
Polite; suitable for most everyday situations.

You can say:

この店は安くていい。
This is casual / plain form. You’d use it:
- With friends, family, people of equal/lower status.
- In informal writing (notes, diaries, chats).

So:

Polite: 安くていいです
Casual: 安くていい

Grammar is the same; only politeness level changes.

Is 安い always “cheap” in a negative sense, like “cheap = low quality”?

安い literally means “inexpensive, low-priced.”
It is not automatically negative. It can be:

Positive: 安くていいです – cheap and that’s good
Neutral: あの店は安いです – that store is cheap (just stating a fact)
Negative if context suggests low quality:
- 安い肉はあまりおいしくないです。
  Cheap meat is not very tasty.

If you want to say cheap in the sense of “shoddy / tacky / low-class”, you can use words like:

安っぽい (やすっぽい) – “cheap-looking, trashy”

But 安い by itself just talks about price; the positive/negative nuance comes from context.

Can 安くて mean “because it’s cheap” instead of “cheap and …”?

Yes, the て-form of adjectives can express both:

Simple connection (“and”)
- 安くて広い – cheap and spacious
Cause/reason (especially when followed by some evaluation or emotional reaction)
- 安くてうれしいです。– I’m happy because it’s cheap.
- 安くて助かります。– It helps me a lot because it’s cheap.

In この店は安くていいです, both readings are possible, but the usual nuance is something like:

“This shop is cheap, and that’s good (for us).”
“It’s good because it’s cheap.”

So in many contexts, the “because” nuance is naturally felt even if English might still translate it as “and.”