This page contains equivalents of the saying 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence' in various languages. It means that 'others' circumstances seem more desirable than one's own but in reality often are not' [source].
| Language | Translations |
|---|---|
| Bengali | ঘাস অন্য দিকে সবসময় সবুজ (ghaś onno dike śobśomoẏ śobuj) the grass is greener on the other side |
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 隔籬飯香 [隔篱饭香] (gaak³ lei⁴ faan⁶ hoeng¹) next door's rice smells good |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 这山望着那山高 [這山望著那山高] (zhè shān wàng zhe nà shān gāo) the next mountain looks taller |
| Danish | græsset er altid grønnere på den anden side af hækken the grass is always greener on the other side of the hedge græsset er altid grønnere på den anden side the grass is always greener on the other side |
| Dutch | het gras is altijd groener bij de buren the grass is always greener at the neighbours het gras is altijd groener aan de overkant the grass is always greener on the other side |
| English | The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence the grass is always greener on the other side of the road the grass is always greener on the other side the grass is always greener the grass is greener |
| Esperanto | herbaro ĉiam aspektas pli verda trans barilo grass always looks greener across a fence |
| Finnish | ruoho on aina vihreämpää aidan toisella puolella the grass is always greener across the fence |
| French | l’herbe est toujours plus verte ailleurs the grass is always greener elsewhere l’herbe est toujours plus verte dans le champ/pré du voisin the grass is always greener in the neighbour's field/meadow l’herbe est plus verte ailleurs the grass is greener elsewhere |
| Galician | a vaca da veciña dá máis leite cá miña the neighbor's cow gives more milk than mine” |
| German | die Kirschen aus Nachbars Garten schmecken immer besser the cherries from the neighbour’s garden always taste better die Kirschen aus Nachbars Garten schmecken immer noch am besten the cherries from the neighbor's garden still taste best |
| Greek | του γείτονα είναι πάντα καλύτερο (tou geítona eínai pánta kalýtero) the neighbour’s is always better το ξένο είναι πιο γλυκό (to xéno eínai lio glykó foreign is sweeter |
| Hebrew | (ha-déshe shel ha-shakhén yarók yotér) הַדֶּשֶׁא שֶׁל הַשָּׁכֵן יָרֹק יוֹתֵר the neighbour’s grass is greener (ha-déshe shel ha-shakhén tamíd yarók yotér) הַדֶּשֶׁא שֶׁל הַשָּׁכֵן תָּמִיד יָרֹק יוֹתֵר the neighbour’s grass is always greener |
| Hindi | दूर के ढोल सुहावने (dūr ke ḍhol suhāvne) things owned by other people look good दूर के ढोल सुहावने लगते हैं (to xéno eínai lio glykó) distant drums sound sweet |
| Hungarian | a szomszéd rétje mindig zöldebb the neighbor's meadow is always greener |
| Indonesian | rumput tetangga selalu terlihat lebih hijau the neighbour’s grass always looks greener |
| Irish | is glas iad na cnoic i bhfad uainn the hills far from us are green is milse gcónaí arian na gcomharsan the neighbour’s money is always sweet |
| Italian | l'erba del vicino è sempre più verde the neighbour’s grass is always greener |
| Japanese | 隣の芝生は青く見える (tonari no shibafu wa aoku mieru) the neighbour’s grass looks greener 隣の芝生は青い (tonari no shibafu wa aoi) the neighbour’s grass is green 隣の花は赤い (tonari no hana wa akai) the neighbour’s flowers are red |
| Korean | 남의 떡이 더 커 보인다 (namui tteogi deo keo boinda) someone else's rice cake looks bigger 먼 무당이 용하다 (namui tteogi deo keo boinda) a distant shaman is helpful |
| Malayalam | അക്കരെ നിന്നാൽ ഇക്കരെ പച്ച (akkare ninnāl ikkare pacca) from the other side, this side is green |
| Marathi | दुरून डोंगर साजरे (durūn ḍoṅgar sājre) celebrate the mountains from afar |
| Norwegian | gresset er alltid grønnere på den andre siden (Bokmål) graset er alltid grønare på den andre sida (Nynorsk) the grass is always greener on the other side |
| Polish | wszędzie dobrze, gdzie nas nie ma everywhere is good where we are not |
| Portuguese | a grama é sempre mais verde do outro lado the grass is always greener on the other side a grama do vizinho é sempre mais verde my neighbour’s grass is always greener a galinha da minha vizinha põe mais ovos que a minha my neighbor’s chicken lays more eggs than mine a cabra da minha vizinha dá mais leite que a minha my neighbor’s goat gives more milk than mine |
| Russian | соседняя очередь всегда движется быстрее (sosednyaya ocheredʹ vsegda dvizhetsya bystreye) the next queue always moves faster там хорошо, где нас нет (tam khorosho, gde nas net) it’s good where we aren’t |
| Scottish Gaelic | ‘s e miann na lacha an loch air nach bi i the duck prefers the loch (lake) where it isn’t tha iteagan bòidheach air na h-eòin a tha fad às the birds that are far away have beautiful feathers |
| Spanish | el pasto siempre es más verde del otro lado the grass is always greener on the other side la hierba parece más verde al otro lado de la valla the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence la gallina de mi vecina más huevos pone que la mía my neighbor’s hen lays more eggs than mine la gallina de mi vecina siempre es más gorda que la mía my neighbor’s hen is always fatter than mine |
| Swedish | gräset är alltid grönare på andra sidan the grass is always greener on the other side |
| Turkish | davulun sesi uzaktan hoş gelir the remote sound of a drum is pleasant |
| Ukrainian | у сусіда хата біла the neighbor's house is white (u susida xata bila) добре там, де нас нема (dobre tam, de nas nema) it’s better where we aren’t |
| Vietnamese | đứng núi này trông núi nọ standing on this mountain looking at that mountain |
| Welsh | man gwyn man draw a perfect place over there mae’r glaswellt yn lasach ar yr ochr arall bob tro the grass is always greener on the other side |
A song by on this idea, called "The Grass is Always Greener in the Other Fellow's Yard", was recorded in 1924 with words by Raymond B. Egan and music by Richard A. Whiting. Here's a recording of Billy Jones singing it:
Here's a song I wrote in October 2023 called 'The Other Side' based on this saying:
http://www.wordreference.com
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/479662/origin-of-the-grass-is-always-greener
https://phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence.html
https://www.omniglot.com/bloggle/?p=21568
Books of idioms, proverbs and sayings in many languages
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
It's all Greek to me | It's raining cats and dogs | As easy as falling off a log | A sandwich short of a picnic | It's small world | When pigs fly | Out of sight, out of mind | Crystal-clear | Penny Pinching | Practice makes perfect | The grass is always greener | As Snug as a Bug in a Rug
Czech | French | Greek | Icelandic | Lithuanian | Manx | Russian | Slovak | Spanish | Swedish | Welsh
Useful phrases | Silly phrases | Numbers | Numerals | Colours | Telling the time | Dates | Weather words | Family words | Terms of endearment | Language names | Country names | Idioms | Proverbs | Tongue twisters | Signs | Compass directions | UDHR | Tower of Babel | Songs | Omniglot | Seven dwarfs | Zodiac signs | Computer parts | Compass directions | Animal sounds
[top]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com
[top]
