Fixed Phrase: 好(不)容易
好（不）容易
Use 好容易 and 好不容易 to emphasize that something was achieved with great difficulty or after a long effort
Both 好容易 and 好不容易 mean "with great difficulty / finally" — they are interchangeable in meaning despite one having 不. The phrase precedes the action that was hard-won, and the second clause typically urges not to waste the effort or expresses relief.
This is a classic case of a Chinese rhetorical paradox: 好容易 and 好不容易 mean the same thing. The 好 here intensifies the meaning of "not easy," regardless of whether 不 is present. The follow-up clause often contains 怎么能, 不能, 千万, or 一定 to stress the importance of seizing the hard-won opportunity.
Lesson Targets
Podcast
Podcast: Fixed Phrase: 好(不)容易 (好（不）容易)
Listen to Jason & Amy explain the 好（不）容易 pattern
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Understanding 好（不）容易
In everyday Chinese, when you want to express that something was achieved only after enormous effort, 好不容易 (or equivalently 好容易) is the perfect phrase. Despite their surface-level difference, both forms carry identical meaning: "with great difficulty" or "finally, after much effort." This is one of Chinese's most fascinating rhetorical features — a negation that doesn't negate. The phrase always precedes the verb describing what was painstakingly accomplished, and it is typically followed by a clause urging the listener to value or not squander that hard-won result. You will hear this expression constantly in spoken Chinese, especially when someone is trying to persuade another person not to give up on something they worked hard to achieve.
Key Points
- 好容易 and 好不容易 are completely synonymous — both mean "with great difficulty / finally after much effort."
- The 好 here functions as an intensifier meaning "very / really," not "good."
- Always followed by a verb phrase describing the hard-won action.
- The second clause often contains 怎么能, 不能, 千万别, or 一定要 to urge not wasting the effort.
- Very common in persuasion: convincing someone not to give up or waste an opportunity.
- More colloquial and emphatic than simply saying 终于 (finally).
The coexistence of 好容易 and 好不容易 with identical meanings reflects a broader phenomenon in Chinese where certain rhetorical negations are purely expressive. Similar to English "I could care less" vs. "I couldn't care less," the emotional force overrides the literal logic. In Chinese culture, emphasizing the difficulty of an achievement is a way of showing respect for effort and perseverance — core values rooted in Confucian thought.
Key Vocabulary
Example Sentences
我好不容易给你争取来这个机会，你怎么能不抓住呢？
I went through so much trouble to get you this opportunity — how can you not seize it?
你好容易走到这一步，怎么能说放弃就放弃呢？
You've come this far with such difficulty — how can you just give up like that?
我好不容易说服他来参加比赛，你不能让他走。
I had such a hard time convincing him to join the competition — you can't let him leave.
好不容易放个假，我们去旅游吧。
We finally have a holiday — let's go traveling.
她好不容易找到了一份满意的工作，非常珍惜。
She finally found a satisfying job after much effort and really treasures it.
我们好容易凑齐了这笔钱，千万不能乱花。
We scraped this money together with great difficulty — we absolutely can't spend it carelessly.
好不容易等到周末，结果又要加班。
I finally made it to the weekend, and now I have to work overtime again.
Common Mistakes
好不容易 modifies the verb phrase directly — 了 belongs after the verb (找到了), not after 容易.
好不容易 modifies a verb, not a noun directly. You need a verb phrase between 好不容易 and 的.
好不容易 should directly precede the verb phrase. Using 终于 is redundant since 好不容易 already conveys "finally after difficulty." Use 才 instead.
Practice Exercises
Tips & Tricks
Remember: 好容易 and 好不容易 mean the exact same thing — this is not a mistake, it is a genuine feature of Chinese.
The follow-up clause almost always contains an urging or emotional reaction — practice pairing 好不容易 with 怎么能, 千万别, or 一定要.
Use 好不容易 in spoken Chinese to make your persuasion more passionate and convincing.
When telling stories, 好不容易 adds drama: it builds up the effort before revealing the result.
Homework
Write five sentences using 好不容易 or 好容易 describing situations where you or someone else achieved something after great effort. For each sentence, include a follow-up clause that reacts to or comments on the hard-won achievement.