🇯🇵Japanese Source WordCode: JA

隣の芝生は青い

Pronunciation / Transliteration: tonari no shibafu wa aoi

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Grass Is Greener/ðə ɡræs ɪz ˈɡriː.nər/
nounidiomCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #4500 frequency
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🇯🇵 Example Sentence in Japanese:

"隣の芝生は青く見えるものだから、今の生活を大切にしよう。"

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    The belief or illusion that other places, situations, or circumstances are invariably better, happier, or more advantageous than one's own.

    "He quit his stable job because of the grass-is-greener mentality, only to realize his new position was far more stressful."
  2. 2

    A state of perpetual dissatisfaction driven by the desire for perceived alternatives.

    "Overcoming the grass-is-greener syndrome requires learning to appreciate the value of what you already have."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the popular English idiom 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence', first recorded in its modern metaphorical form in the early 20th century. The expression draws on the visual observation that distant pastures often appear lusher due to perspective, symbolizing the human psychological tendency to perceive alternative situations as better than one's own.

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10 Global Lexicons: How "Grass Is Greener" is said worldwide

Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration

🇫🇷French → English

l'herbe est toujours plus verte ailleurs

Transliteration: l'erb ɛ tu-žuʁ ply vɛʁt ɛlœʁ

"Il a quitté son emploi à cause de l'illusion que l'herbe est toujours plus verte ailleurs."

🇩🇪German → English

andere Weiden sind immer grüner

Transliteration: andəʁə vaɪdən zɪnt ɪmɐ ɡʁyːnɐ

"Man denkt oft, die anderen Weiden sind immer grüner, bis man dorthin zieht."

🇮🇹Italian → English

l'erba del vicino è sempre più verde

Transliteration: l'ɛrba del viˈtʃino ɛ ˈsɛmpre ply ˈverde

"Spesso pensiamo che l'erba del vicino sia sempre più verde."

🇪🇸Spanish → English

la hierba es siempre más verde en el vecino

Transliteration: la ˈjɛrβa es ˈsjempɾe mas ˈbeɾðe en el βeˈsi.no

Script: la hierba es siempre más verde

"La gente suele caer en la trampa de creer que la hierba es siempre más verde en otra parte."

🇵🇹Portuguese → English

a grama do vizinho é sempre mais verde

Transliteration: a ˈɡɾɐmɐ du viˈziɲu i ˈsẽpɾe majs ˈveɾdi

"A ilusão de que a grama do vizinho é sempre mais verde afeta muitas pessoas."

🇮🇳Hindi → English

दूर walee dhol suhane

Transliteration: door ke dhol suhane lagte hain

Script: दूर के ढोल सुहाने लगते हैं

"दूसरों की नौकरी हमेशा अच्छी लगती है क्योंकि दूर के ढोल सुहाने होते हैं।"

🇨🇳Chinese → English

这山望着那山高

Transliteration: zhè shān wàng zhe nà shān gāo

"人们总是有这山望着那山高的心态,对现状不满足。"

🇰🇷Korean → English

남의 떡이 더 커 보인다

Transliteration: nam-ui tteog-i deo keo bo-inda

"남의 떡이 더 커 보인다더니, 이직한 회사가 더 힘들다."

🇯🇵Japanese → English

隣の芝生は青い

Transliteration: tonari no shibafu wa aoi

"隣の芝生は青く見えるものだから、今の生活を大切にしよう。"

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