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得来不易

dé lái bù yìdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
hard to come by / not easily obtained / hard-won
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-54fb511411a84364. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

得來不易 得来不易 [de2 lai2 bu4 yi4] /hard to come by; not easily obtained; hard-won/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 得來不易

  • 得
    dé

    to obtain / to get / to gain / to catch (a disease) / proper / suitable / proud / contented / to allow / to permit / ready / finished

    dè

    used in 得瑟[dè se]

    de

    structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc

    děi

    to have to / must / ought to / to need to

  • 来
    lái

    to come / (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) / hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[huí lai]) / ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zì gǔ yǐ lái]) / for the past (amount of time) / (prefix) the coming ... / the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lái shì]) / (between two verbs) in order to / (after a round number) approximately / (used after 得[dé] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tán de lái], or after 不[bù] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chī bu lái])

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 易
    yì

    easy / amiable / to change / to exchange / prefix corresponding to the English adjective suffix "-able" or "-ible"

    Yì

    surname Yi / I Ching / Book of Changes (abbr. for 易經|易经[Yì jīng])

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.