Expressing difficulty with "hao (bu) rongyi"

好不容易 (hǎo bù róngyì) means "very difficult" or "really not easy." It is often used where the speaker wants to comment on the result of their hard work, something like "It was really hard for me to x, but then I realized y."

Adverbial Structure with 才

Sentences using 好不容易 are often followed by 才 (cái), emphasizing the action has been completed only with great difficulty.

Structure

Strange as it might seem, 好容易 has the same meaning as 好不容易, and can be used interchangeably. 好不容易 is more common.

Subj. + 好 (不) 容易 + 才 + [Result]

The "result" part can be a simple phrase or a whole clause.

Examples

• 她 好容易 才 减肥 成功。Tā hǎo róngyì cái jiǎnféi.She had a hard time losing weight.
• 我 好不容易 才 打通 了 银行 的 服务 热线 。Wǒ hǎobù róngyì cái dǎtōng le yínháng de fúwù rèxiàn.It was no easy task to get through to the bank's customer service hotline.
• 我们 好不容易 才 做完 这 个 项目，结果 合同 取消 了。Wǒmen hǎobù róngyì cái zuò wán zhège xiàngmù, jiéguǒ hétóng qǔxiāo le.It was with great difficulty that we finally finished this project. But then the contract was canceled.
• 我 好不容易 才 到 市中心， 发现 没 带 手机，只好 回去 拿。Wǒ hǎobù róngyì cái dào shì zhōngxīn, fāxiàn méi dài shǒujī, zhǐhǎo huíqù ná.It was a lot of trouble to get to the city center, but then I realized I had forgotten my cell phone and had to go back and get it.
• 金融 危机 之后 他 好不容易 才 找到 工作，现在 又 辞职 了 。Jīnróng wéijī zhīhòu tā hǎobù róngyì cái zhǎodào gōngzuò, xiànzài yòu cízhí le.After the financial crisis, he had a hard time finally finding a job. And now he's resigning.
• 他们 好不容易 才 爬 到 了 山顶，结果 下起 了 大雨 。Tāmen hǎobù róngyì cái pá dào le shāndǐng, jiéguǒ xià qǐ le dàyǔ.With great difficulty, they finally climbed to the top of the mountain. And then it started raining heavily.
• 老师 好容易 才 让学生订正了错误的句子。Lǎoshī hǎo róngyì cái ràng xuéshēng dìngzhèng.The teacher had a difficult time making the students correct their work.

Adjectival Structure (without 才)

Structure

Verb / [Verb Phrase] + 好容易 / 好不容易

In this simpler structure we use 好(不)容易 by itself to express “with great difficulty”. At the end of the sentence particles such as 啊 or 哦 will also often be used to add emotion.

Examples

• 要 完成 这 个 大 项目 好不容易 啊。Yào wánchéng zhège dà xiàngmù hǎobù róngyì a.Finishing this big project will not be an easy task.
• 养 大 一 个 孩子 好不容易。Yǎng dà yī gè háizi hǎobù róngyì.Raising a child is not an easy thing to do.
• 创办 一 个 公司 好不容易 啊。Chuàngbàn yī gè gōngsī hǎobù róngyì a.Starting a company isn't easy.

See also

• Easy to do something
• Difficult to do something

Sources and further reading

Books

• Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 2 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇) (pp. 100，110-11) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 77-8) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

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