ProverbWisdom
Russian origin
Russian originТам хорошо, где нас нет (Tam khorosho, gde nas net)
Meaning: Other places always seem better than where you are.
Literally: It's good wherever we aren't
Example: “Все хотят уехать за границу, а там свои проблемы. Там хорошо, где нас нет.” — Everyone wants to move abroad, but it has its own problems: the grass is always greener on the other side.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 4 more languages
English: The grass is always greener on the other side
French: L'herbe est toujours plus verte ailleurs (literally: The grass is always greener elsewhere)
Spanish: La gallina de mi vecina más huevos pone que la mía (literally: My neighbor's hen lays more eggs than mine)
Japanese: 隣の芝生は青い (Tonari no shibafu wa aoi) (literally: The neighbor's lawn is blue/green)
German: Die Kirschen in Nachbars Garten schmecken immer süßer (literally: The cherries in the neighbor's garden always taste sweeter)
Italian: L'erba del vicino è sempre più verde (literally: The neighbor's grass is always greener)
Portuguese: A galinha da minha vizinha é mais gorda do que a minha (literally: My neighbor's hen is fatter than mine)
Polish: Wszędzie dobrze, gdzie nas nie ma (literally: It's good everywhere we aren't)
Chinese: 这山望着那山高 (Zhè shān wàngzhe nà shān gāo) (literally: From this mountain, that one looks higher)
Origin: Griboyedov put it into his comedy Woe from Wit (1820s): asked "where is it better?", Chatsky answers "where we are not." Pushkin used the exchange as an epigraph in Eugene Onegin.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Beloruchka Someone who dodges dirty or hard work — a person whose hands stay conspicuously clean.
- Zapoi A bender running for days, in which a person drops out of ordinary life entirely.
- Toska A dull ache of the soul; a great longing with nothing in particular to long for.
Keep exploring