好不容易 (hǎo bù róng yì) — with great difficulty; after a lot of trouble; only after much effort

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'only after much difficulty' — the 好 inverts 不容易 to emphasize how hard something was. Pairs with 才 to highlight the narrow result, e.g. 才好、才找到.

verb
with great difficultyafter a lot of troubleonly after much effort

Examples

  • 好不容易。
    Wǒ hǎo bù róng yì cái zhǎo dào nà jiā cān tīng.
    I found that restaurant only after a lot of effort.
  • 好不容易。
    Tā hǎo bù róng yì kǎo shàng le dà xué.
    He got into college after great difficulty.
  • 好不容易。
    Wǒ men hǎo bù róng yì gǎn shàng zuì hòu yì bān chē.
    We caught the last bus only after a lot of trouble.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng容róng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 容, the 宀 (roof) part points to holding or containing, and 公 gives the sound.

Open 容 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 易 was a drawing of a filled container, not a chameleon. It showed something full that could be given out.

Open 易 →

Grammar

Appears in
Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.