好不容易 (hǎo bù róngyì) — finally; with great difficulty; took a lot of effort

好不容易 (hǎo bù róngyì)

好不容易 means "only after great difficulty" or "finally, after a lot of effort." Despite the presence of 不, it is equivalent in meaning to 好容易 — both express that something required tremendous effort. The 好不 is an intensifier pattern (like 好不热闹 = very lively), but idiomatically 好不容易 has become fixed to mean "it was very much not easy."

Meanings

1. [adverb] Finally; only after great difficulty; with a lot of effort — emphasizes that achieving something required considerable trouble or time.

Example Sentences

我好不容易买到了这张票。 Wǒ hǎo bù róngyì mǎidào le zhè zhāng piào. I finally managed to buy this ticket after a lot of effort.

他好不容易找到了工作，一定要珍惜。 Tā hǎo bù róngyì zhǎodào le gōngzuò, yīdìng yào zhēnxī. He found a job only after great difficulty; he must cherish it.

好不容易等到假期，结果又下雨了。 Hǎo bù róngyì děng dào jiàqī, jiéguǒ yòu xià yǔ le. We waited so hard for the holiday, and then it rained again.

她好不容易才说服了父母。 Tā hǎo bù róngyì cái shuōfú le fùmǔ. She only managed to convince her parents after a great deal of effort.

Collocations

Memory Hook

Say it slowly: "hǎo bù róngyì" — "very much NOT easy." The effort was so great it gets its own dramatic four-character expression. When you finally arrive after struggling, you earned the right to say 好不容易.