来之不易lái zhī bú yì(idiom) hard to come by; not easily obtained

1. 1.

   (idiom) hard to come by; not easily obtainedidiom

Figurative meaning

Hard to come by; not easily obtained.

• 来to come
• 之it
• 不(bound form) not; un-
• 易easy

No attested origin story

来之不易 usually follows the thing being described, as in 这个机会来之不易, and can lead into advice to value it.

1. HSK 3

   这个机会来之不易。

   Zhège jīhuì lái zhī bú yì.

   This chance was hard to come by.

2. HSK 5

   幸福的生活来之不易，我们应该珍惜。

   Xìngfú de shēnghuó lái zhī bú yì, wǒmen yīnggāi zhēnxī.

   A happy life is not easily obtained; we should cherish it.

3. HSK 4

   这份工作来之不易，他工作很努力。

   Zhè fèn gōngzuò lái zhī bú yì, tā gōngzuò hěn nǔlì.

   This job was hard to come by, so he works very hard.

1. 
   Speaker A:

   我找到工作了！

   Wǒ zhǎodào gōngzuò le!

   I found a job!

2. 
   Speaker B:

   太好了！找了很长时间吧？

   Tài hǎo le! Zhǎo le hěn cháng shíjiān ba?

   Great! Did you look for a long time?

3. 
   Speaker A:

   是啊，这个工作来之不易。

   Shì a, zhège gōngzuò lái zhī bú yì.

   Yes, this job was hard to come by.

4. 
   Speaker B:

   那你要好好工作。

   Nà nǐ yào hǎohǎo gōngzuò.

   Then you should work hard at it.

1. 1.What does 来之不易 mean?

   AHard to come byBIts reputation is well deservedCTo keep going until the end
2. 2.Which sentence uses 来之不易 correctly?

   A这个机会来之不易。B我来之不易去学校。C他来之不易了一杯茶。
3. 3.Which word fits best? 幸福的生活____，我们应该珍惜。 (A happy life is not easily obtained; we should cherish it.)

   A来之不易B名不虚传C坚持不懈

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Related idioms

• 不可思议bù kě sī yìinconceivable; unimaginable; unfathomableHSK 7–9
• 不知不觉bù zhī bù jué(idiom) unconsciously; unwittinglyHSK 7–9
• 不知所措bù zhī suǒ cuònot knowing what to doHSK 7–9
• 不约而同bù yuē ér tóng(idiom) (of two or more people) to take the same action without prior consultation; (usu. used adverbially) all (or both) of them, independently; as if by prior agreementHSK 7–9
• 不言而喻bù yán ér yù(idiom) it goes without saying; it is self-evidentHSK 7–9
• 与众不同yǔ zhòng bù tóng(idiom) to stand out from the crowd; distinctive; different from the restHSK 7–9

Browse every entry in the Chinese idioms dictionary.