不易

bùyì

adjective HSK 5 #17,557

Meanings

学好中文不易。

Xué hǎo Zhōngwén bùyì.

Mastering Chinese is not easy.

来之不易的机会，要好好珍惜。

Láizhībùyì de jīhuì, yàohǎo hǎo zhēnxī.

An opportunity that was hard to come by should be cherished.

创业不易，需要很大的勇气。

Chuàngyè bùyì, xūyào hěn dà de yǒngqì.

Starting a business is not easy; it takes great courage.

usage

不易 is more formal/literary than 不容易 (bù róngyì). The set phrase 来之不易 (hard-won, not easily obtained) is extremely common.

history

易 originally meant 'to change' (as in 易经 Yìjīng, the Book of Changes). Its meaning of 'easy' developed later.

不 bù

易 yì