Expressing difficulty with "hao (bu) rongyi"

好不容易(hǎo bù róngyì) means "very difficult". 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 do to do x, but then I realized y".

For example:

• 我 好不容易 才到 市 中心， 却 发现 没 带 手机，只好 回去 拿。
• 金融 危机 爆发 之后 他 好不容易 才 找到 工作。
• 我 好不容易 才 打通 了 银行 的 服务 热线。

Sentences using 好不容易 are often followed by 才, emphasizing the action has been completed later than expected. This gives a sense that the speaker was not only 好不容易, but also spent a long time being 好不容易.

Strangely enough, 好容易 has the same meaning as 好不容易, and can be used interchangeably.