不易

bùyì

adjective HSK 5 #17,557

Meanings

HSK 1

学好中文不易。

Xué hǎo Zhōngwén bùyì.

Mastering Chinese is not easy.

HSK 4

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.

HSK 7-9

来之不易的机会，要好好珍惜。

Láizhībùyì de jīhuì, yào hǎohǎo zhēnxī.

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

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