Nuance: Using the negated adjective versus using the opposite adjective


As far as I understand, the following two sentences functionally mean the same
thing, "It's not easy" and "It's hard"

> やさしくないです。
>
> むずかしいです。

My question is, do these statements have any subtle nuances? Do the Japanese
have a preference for either negating an adjective or using its opposite
adjective, or are both methods used indiscriminately?

Please reply using kana only. すこしかんじがわかります。




Those nuances exist in any language, not just Japanese. It's all about
implication. If I tell you a number is not negative, mathematically that not
does imply it is positive, because it could be 0, and 0 is neither positive
nor negative. It's the same (at least it should be) with language. If I say
something is not easy, that does not necessarily imply that it is difficult.

If someone asks you if something is むずかしい, answer with either むずかしい or
むずかしくない. Changing to the "opposite" word is just awkward and confusing (in the
sense of "what the heck just happened!?", not in understanding what they
mean).

I wouldn't switch to another word without first negating what they are asking
you and then following it up with some kind of explanation.

>   * A: ギターはむずかしいですか？ → Is (playing) guitar difficult?
>     * B1: やさしくないです。 → It's not easy
>       * A: (@-@) (なんでやねん、それ！） → NG!!
>     * B2: むずかしくはないけど、やさしくもない。 → It's not difficult, but it's not easy
> either.
>       * A: (^-^) → オッケー！
>     * B3: むずかしいというより、うまくなるのは[時間]{じ・かん}がかかる → It's not so much difficult as
> it just requires a lot of time to get good.
>       * A: (^-^) → オッケー！
>




Those nuances exist in any language, not just Japanese. It's all about
implication. If I tell you a number is not negative, mathematically that not
does imply it is positive, because it could be 0, and 0 is neither positive
nor negative. It's the same (at least it should be) with language. If I say
something is not easy, that does not necessarily imply that it is difficult.

If someone asks you if something is むずかしい, answer with either むずかしい or
むずかしくない. Changing to the "opposite" word is just awkward and confusing (in the
sense of "what the heck just happened!?", not in understanding what they
mean).

I wouldn't switch to another word without first negating what they are asking
you and then following it up with some kind of explanation.

>   * A: ギターはむずかしいですか？ → Is (playing) guitar difficult?
>     * B1: やさしくないです。 → It's not easy
>       * A: (@-@) (なんでやねん、それ！） → NG!!
>     * B2: むずかしくはないけど、やさしくもない。 → It's not difficult, but it's not easy
> either.
>       * A: (^-^) → オッケー！
>     * B3: むずかしいというより、うまくなるのは[時間]{じ・かん}がかかる → It's not so much difficult as
> it just requires a lot of time to get good.
>       * A: (^-^) → オッケー！
>

