好容易 (hǎo róng yì) — (idiomatic) with great difficulty; it takes a lot of effort (often followed by 才); (literal) very easy; so easy

Definition

Heads up: 好容易 can mean 'very easy' (literal) OR 'with great difficulty' before 才 — the opposite meaning! When you see it followed by 才, read it as 'it was hard to…'.

adjective
(idiomatic) with great difficultyit takes a lot of effort (often followed by 才)(literal) very easyso easy

Examples

  • 好容易。
    Wǒ hǎo róng yì cái zhǎo dào zhè jiā cān tīng.
    I had a hard time finding this restaurant.
  • 好容易，。
    Zhè dào tí hǎo róng yì, yí kàn jiù huì zuò.
    This question is very easy; you'll know how to do it at a glance.
  • 好容易。
    Tā hǎo róng yì cái wán chéng nà ge xiàng mù.
    He completed that project with great difficulty.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

好hǎovery
容易easy
容róngeasy易yìeasy
联合Side by side

好容易 uses 好 meaning very with 容易 meaning easy, and the whole can idiomatically mean with great difficulty.

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 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 6

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.