Meaning of 好不容易
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- with great difficulty
- very difficult
How to use 好不容易
It usually comes before a verb to say you managed something only after a lot of effort, often with 才 (cái) after it. Example: 我好不容易才买到票。(Wǒ hǎobùróngyì cái mǎidào piào.) I finally managed to get a ticket, with great difficulty.
Break it into 好 (hǎo, very here), 不 (bù, not), and 容易 (róngyì, easy): "very not easy." Picture finally finishing something after a long struggle and sighing, "that was so not easy."
Common mistake: Learners think 不 makes it mean "easy," but 好不容易 and 好容易 (hǎoróngyì) both mean "with great difficulty" in this structure. Also, 不 here stays fourth tone (bù) because 容 is second tone, so do not change it to bú.
好不容易 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
好 hǎo · good · 6 strokes
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不 bù · no · 4 strokes
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容 róng · appearance · 10 strokes
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易 yì · to change · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 好不容易.
| 对不起 | duìbuqǐ | I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint |
| 是不是 | shì bu shì | is or is not (used to form yes-no questions) |
| 不用 | bùyòng | need not |
| 最好 | zuìhǎo | best; had better ...; it would be best to ... |
| 好吃 | hǎochī | tasty; delicious |
| 好看 | hǎokàn | good-looking; nice-looking; (of a movie, book, TV show etc) good |
| 好听 | hǎotīng | pleasant to hear |
| 爱好 | àihào | to like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
| 好玩儿 | hǎowánr | erhua variant of 好玩[hao3 wan2] |
| 不对 | bùduì | incorrect; wrong |
| 不客气 | bù kèqì | you're welcome; don't mention it |
Questions about 好不容易
What does 好不容易 mean?
好不容易 (hǎobùróngyì) means "with great difficulty; very difficult" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 好不容易?
好不容易 is made of 4 characters: 好 (6 strokes), 不 (4 strokes), 容 (10 strokes), 易 (8 strokes). That is 28 strokes in total.
Is 好不容易 an HSK word?
Yes. 好不容易 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 好不容易 and 不容易?
不容易 (bù róngyì) simply means "not easy" and can describe a task: 这个工作不容易. 好不容易 is stronger and usually describes how you finally achieved something: 好不容易做完了.
Can 好不容易 be used at the end of a sentence?
Yes, as a predicate it can mean "very hard," as in 当老师真是好不容易. In speech it is more common before a verb, often followed by 才.