The Meaning of yasui [安い] In Japanese

安い
やすい
Romaji: yasui N5

What does 安い mean?

Translation and Meaning

cheap, inexpensive, low-priced

Definition

安い (yasui) means cheap or inexpensive; it denotes that something costs relatively little and conveys affordability as its primary sense while context can add neutral or negative shades about value or quality.

Type

adjective (い形容詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • When used disparagingly, points to low quality, poor craftsmanship, or lack of prestige rather than price alone.
  • Homophonous use as an adjectival suffix meaning “easy to [verb]” (often written 易い (yasui)); in speech the pronunciation overlaps and this use denotes low difficulty.
  • Can imply comparative affordability — highlighting a cost advantage versus alternatives rather than an absolute price tag.

Composition

  • 安 (yasu): the kanji conveys ideas of safety/peace and by extension low cost or ease; the okurigana 〜い marks the adjective ending that turns the root into an i-adjective.

Usage

Common in everyday speech and writing to talk about cost and value; it appears before nouns when modifying (prenominal) and after nouns as a predicate, conjugates like other Japanese i-adjectives (negative, past, polite forms), and in polite or commercial contexts speakers often choose softer alternatives to avoid sounding blunt.
💡 Tips
Visualize 安 as a roof over a person—safe and simple—so when you see 安い (yasui) think “under the roof = affordable.”

Variations

  • 安価 (あんか, anka) — inexpensive (more formal)
  • 安っぽい (やすっぽい, yasuppoi) — cheap-looking, tacky
  • 高い (たかい, takai) — expensive (antonym)

Example Phrases

  • 木材を 買って 安い 店を 探して 家の 棚を 作った
    Mokuzai o katte yasui mise o sagashite ie no tana o tsukutta
    I bought lumber and looked for a cheap store to make a shelf for the house.
    Lista:
    • 木材を (mokuzai o) – lumber (object)
    • 買って (katte) – buying (te-form)
    • 安い (yasui) – cheap
    • 店を (mise o) – store (object)
    • 探して (sagashite) – searching
    • 家の (ie no) – home’s
    • 棚を (tana o) – shelf (object)
    • 作った (tsukutta) – made
    ここでは「木材」は材料として使われ、買う動作の対象になる。
  • 一般の人にはこの店が一番安いと思われる。
    Ippan no hito ni wa kono mise ga ichiban yasui to omowareru.
    To most people, this shop seems the cheapest.
    Lista:
    • 一般の人には (Ippan no hito ni wa) – to the general public
    • この店 (kono mise) – this shop
    • が (ga) – subject marker
    • 一番 (ichiban) – the most
    • 安い (yasui) – cheap
    • と (to) – quotative particle
    • 思われる (omowareru) – to be thought
    「一般の人には」 expresses ‘to the general public’ using 「一般」 and the particle には.
安い