The grass is always greener on the other side
Meaning: What others have always seems better than what you have.
Origin: The Roman poet Ovid wrote in The Art of Love that the harvest is always richer in another man's fields. The modern pastoral version appears in American print by the late 1910s, and a 1924 song by Raymond Egan and Richard Whiting, "The Grass Is Always Greener in the Other Fellow's Yard," helped spread it.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: L'herbe est toujours plus verte ailleurs (literally: The grass is always greener elsewhere)
- Spanish: La hierba siempre es más verde al otro lado (literally: The grass is always greener on the other side)
- 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 neighbour's garden always taste sweeter)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush — It's better to have something certain now than to risk it for something uncertain in the…
- Every cloud has a silver lining — There is always something positive in every difficult situation.
- Look before you leap — Think carefully before acting.
- A stitch in time saves nine — Fixing a problem early prevents bigger issues later.
- Don't count your chickens before they hatch — Don't assume success before it happens.
- Knowledge is power — Education and learning give you strength and advantage.
From our untranslatable words
- Gigil — The overwhelming urge to squeeze or pinch something unbearably cute.
- Iktsuarpok — The restless anticipation that makes you keep stepping outside to see if someone is final…
- Meraki — Pouring your soul, love, and creativity into whatever you do — cooking, art, anything.