How to express “had a hard time” with 好不容易 (hǎo bù róngyì)
好不容易 (hǎo bù róngyì) / 好容易 (hǎo róngyì) + 才 (cái) + Verb Phrase
好不容易 (hǎo bù róng yì) — difficulty, “finally”
好不容易 (hǎo bù róngyì) / 好容易 (hǎo róngyì) + 才 (cái) + Verb Phrase
HSK 5Adverbs好不容易 (hǎo bù róng yì) — difficulty, “finally”
Rule structure
好不容易 (hǎo bù róngyì) and 好容易 (hǎo róngyì) both mean "with great difficulty, very hard". Despite the negative form, they have the same meaning. Often paired with 才 (cái) to emphasize that the result was achieved after much effort.
Rule structure
好不容易 (hǎo bù róngyì) and 好容易 (hǎo róngyì) both mean "with great difficulty, very hard". Despite the negative form, they have the same meaning. Often paired with 才 (cái) to emphasize that the result was achieved after much effort.
Examples
我好不容易才找到你家。
Wǒ hǎo bù róngyì cái zhǎodào nǐ jiā.
I had a lot of difficulty finding your house.
Examples
我好不容易才找到你家。
Wǒ hǎo bù róngyì cái zhǎodào nǐ jiā.
I had a lot of difficulty finding your house.
Build the sentence
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Frequently asked questions
How do you say “difficulty, “finally”” in Chinese with 好不容易?
Use the structure: 好不容易 (hǎo bù róngyì) / 好容易 (hǎo róngyì) + 才 (cái) + Verb Phrase. For example: 我好不容易才找到你家。 — “I had a lot of difficulty finding your house.”.
What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?
我好不容易才找到你家。 — “I had a lot of difficulty finding your house.”.
Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?
This grammar rule is part of HSK 5.
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More HSK 5 grammar rules
还…呢 — still in progress
Subj. + 还 (hái) + Predicate + 呢 (ne)
干脆 — just do it
干脆 (gāncuì) + Verb Phrase
都…还 — already, and still
Subj. + 都 (dōu) + Predicate
再也不 — never again
Subj. + 再也 (zài yě) + 不 (bù) + Verb Phrase + 了 (le)
再不 — last chance with “if not… then…”
Subj. + 再不 (zài bù) + Verb Phrase, 就 (jiù) + result
总 — always, all the time
总 (zǒng) + Verb Phrase
白 — wasted effort
白 (bái) + Verb Phrase
毕竟 — after all
毕竟 (bìjìng) + Clause