好（不）容易 for “Finally, After Much Effort”

Pattern

subject + 好不容易 / 好容易 + (才) + verb phrase

Before a verb, 好不容易 and 好容易 mean the same thing: “only with great difficulty, finally.”

我好不容易才买到这本书。

When to use 好（不）容易 for “Finally, After Much Effort”

Put 好不容易 or 好容易 right before the verb phrase. It tells the listener that the result took a lot of time or effort. 才 very often follows, and the sentence usually reports something that already happened.

我们好容易才找到他家。

We had a hard time finding his home.

他练了很久，好不容易才学会游泳。

He practiced for a long time and finally learned to swim.

今天好不容易出太阳了，我们去公园吧。

The sun has finally come out today. Let’s go to the park.

我好不容易把作业写完了，妈妈又让我去练钢琴。

I’d only just managed to finish my homework when Mom told me to go practice the piano.

Common traps

Before a verb, 好容易 and 好不容易 mean the same thing; 不 does not flip the meaning.
Don’t put 就 after the pattern; use 才: 好不容易才找到, not 好不容易就找到.
As the main comment, 好容易 means “very easy”: 这道题好容易!

Targeted drill

Practice this exact pattern before moving on.

他练了很久，才学会游泳

He practiced for a long time and finally learned to swim

hǎo bù róng yì

Meanings

with great difficulty; finally, after much effort

Fill in the missing piece, then press Enter

When to use 好（不）容易 for “Finally, After Much Effort”

Common traps

Targeted drill

Keep this pattern in review.