Hard-Won Result with 好不容易 in Chinese
好不容易
好不容易, and the variant 好容易 in this fixed use, marks an outcome achieved only after substantial difficulty, roughly finally or with great effort. The entire expression stands before the achieved action. Its internal negative does not negate the result, and no aspect marker or object may split the formula.
Published July 23, 2026
Reviewed July 23, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Subject + 好(不)容易 + Verb Phrase
Read the structure
好不容易, and the variant 好容易 in this fixed use, marks an outcome achieved only after substantial difficulty, roughly finally or with great effort. The entire expression stands before the achieved action. Its internal negative does not negate the result, and no aspect marker or object may split the formula. Keep the model Subject + 好(不)容易 + Verb Phrase visible while you compare each sentence.
我好不容易说服了他。
I finally managed to persuade him.
Choose the right context
Use 好不容易 before a hard-won completed action. Use it to foreground the effort preceding an achievement. Use the licensed variant 好容易 with the same contextual interpretation.
她好不容易找到了工作。
She finally found a job after much difficulty.
Respect the boundary
Do not interpret 不 as ordinary clause negation. Do not attach aspect inside the fixed expression. Do not place the achieved object's noun phrase inside 好不容易.
我好不了容易说服他。
(I finally managed to persuade him.)
Repair the pattern
Aspect marker splits the fixed expression: 好不容易 is an indivisible adverbial formula; 了 marks the achieved action. Object inserted inside the fixed expression: Object 工作 follows resultative verb 找到 and cannot split 好不容易.
我好不容易说服了他。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
我好不容易说服了他。
I finally managed to persuade him.
我
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
好不容易
好(不)容易
This part occupies the 好(不)容易 position in the model pattern.
说服
Verb Phrase
This part occupies the Verb Phrase position in the model pattern.
了
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
他
好(不)容易
This part occupies the 好(不)容易 position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
我好不容易说服了他。
I finally managed to persuade him.
她好不容易找到了工作。
She finally found a job after much difficulty.
我们好容易才走到这一步。
It took great effort for us to get this far.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Use 好不容易 before a hard-won completed action.
- Use it to foreground the effort preceding an achievement.
- Use the licensed variant 好容易 with the same contextual interpretation.
Do not use it when
- Do not interpret 不 as ordinary clause negation.
- Do not attach aspect inside the fixed expression.
- Do not place the achieved object's noun phrase inside 好不容易.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
我好不了容易说服他。
我好不容易说服了他。
Aspect marker splits the fixed expression
好不容易 is an indivisible adverbial formula; 了 marks the achieved action.
她好不工作容易找到了。
她好不容易找到了工作。
Object inserted inside the fixed expression
Object 工作 follows resultative verb 找到 and cannot split 好不容易.
我好不了容易说服他。
好不容易 is an indivisible adverbial formula; 了 marks the achieved action.
她好不工作容易找到了。
Object 工作 follows resultative verb 找到 and cannot split 好不容易.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 好不容易.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 好不容易. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
Hard-Won Result with 好不容易 Questions
Does 好不容易 mean not easy?
Historically related, but in this adverbial construction it presents a hard-won achievement.
Why can 好容易 have a similar meaning?
GF records both variants in this fixed contextual use; surrounding achievement context resolves the reading.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: GF0025-2021 Appendix A, Level 6 item 【六31】 (PDF p. 237)
Provides official Level 6 directory placement and examples only; it does not establish the learner-facing usage explanation.
Official sourceModern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.
Ross, Ma, Chen, He and Yeh · Routledge · 2024
Locator: Chapter 15, Adverbs
Supports fixed adverbial expressions before the predicate; GF item 【六31】 supplies the two variants and their hard-won-result examples.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Compare
起初…才…Initial State and Delayed Realization
好不容易 evaluates an achievement as difficult; 起初…才… locates a delayed result within a time sequence.
Easy to confuse
幸好Fortunate Circumstance with 幸好
Distinguish between 好不容易 emphasizing overcoming difficulties to achieve and 幸好 emphasizing favorable conditions to avoid bad results. The two evaluation perspectives are different.
Continue learning
完/到/见Result Complements (完/到/见)
Use a result complement after 好不容易 when the sentence needs to state exactly what was finally achieved.
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Continue learning
Use a result complement after 好不容易 when the sentence needs to state exactly what was finally achieved.