好(不)容易 (with great difficulty)
IntroducedA ticket took several attempts to obtain
- I我with great difficulty好不容易only then才to buy买result complement: attained or found in 买到 / 找到到ticket票。 The speaker finally obtained a ticket after difficulty. to buy买result complement: attained or found in 买到 / 找到到 states the achieved result.
- The expression highlights a hard-won result; it does not specify an exact number of attempts or hours.
Read the whole hard-won construction
- with great difficulty好不容易only then才to find找到 reports finally finding something with difficulty. only then才 adds the only-then sense in this example.
- with great difficulty好不容易to find找到(completed / change)了一份to work工作 is also possible without only then才. Do not turn a useful model sentence into a rule that every example must contain only then才.
I我with great difficulty好不容易only then才managed to buy买到。
Use the only-then word taught here: 我好不容易____买到票。
才 adds the only-then sense; it is not compulsory in every 好不容易 example.
Recognise the matching idiomatic reading
- I我hard-won in this construction; context matters好容易only then才to buy买result complement: attained or found in 买到 / 找到到ticket票 can also use hard-won in this construction; context matters好容易 in the hard-won sense. The construction and context support that reading.
- hard-won in this construction; context matters好容易 is not interchangeable with with great difficulty好不容易 in every possible sentence. In an easy-task context, this这个topic题hard-won in this construction; context matters好容易 can mean that the question is very easy.
In 我好容易才买到票, which reading fits the taught hard-won construction?
The construction supports the idiomatic hard-won reading.
What achieved result does 买到票 state?
买到 supplies the obtained result.
Separate difficulty from the count
- to try to find找(completed / change)了several days几天，only then才to find找到 supplies a search duration. with great difficulty好不容易to find找到 emphasises the difficulty without giving that duration.
- Translate finally or with difficulty when it fits, but do not invent three days, ten tries or another precise number.
Which meaning is stated?
Identify the meaning and evidence in each complete example.
Every 好不容易 sentence must contain 才.
好不容易找到了一份工作 is possible without it.
Match the complete example to the stated meaning.
Read the action, context and the stated evidence.
好容易 and 好不容易 are interchangeable in every context.
好容易 can also have a literal easy reading in another context.
A hard-won result can be lost later
- I我with great difficulty好不容易managed to buy买到ticket票，afterwards后来but却(把: marks the object)把ticket票variant of 弄弄to lose丢(completed / change)了。 The ticket was obtained, then lost. The later loss does not undo the earlier achieved result.
- Identify the result at each stage. A difficult process can also achieve avoiding an unwanted event, so a negative word alone is not proof of contradiction.
Losing the ticket later makes an earlier difficult purchase impossible.
The account contains two successive events.
Choose an unambiguous expression
- To say an exercise is very easy, 这道题degree / adjective linker很easy容易 is clear. To say a ticket was hard to obtain, I我with great difficulty好不容易only then才to buy买result complement: attained or found in 买到 / 找到到ticket票 is clear.
- In a new account, identify the context, the achieved result and any later change before deciding how to translate hard-won in this construction; context matters好容易.
In a new account, identify the context, the achieved result and any later change before deciding how to translate hard-won in this construction; context matters好容易.
Read the full reference: HSK 5 grammar — Adverbs.
You want a clear statement that an exercise is easy. Which fits?
很容易 expresses the easy-task meaning clearly.
Recall the situation: A ticket took several attempts to obtain. Decide what the speaker wanted to communicate. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.
This is supported productive practice. Compare meaning and structure; your answer need not copy the model. A partner or teacher must hear the spoken response to comment on pronunciation.