money doesn't grow on trees

English

Proverb

money does n't grow on trees

Wealth cannot be obtained without some effort; hence currency is not always available for a prospective purchase.
- 1943, William Budington Duryee, Farming for security, page 187:
  Perhaps it was a Scotsman who, in response to an idea for lavish expenditure, first said "Money doesn't grow on trees".
- 1975, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, page 39:
  Today's money worries certainly should make it easier for parents to teach their children that money doesn't grow on trees.
- 2005, Kathie Rechkemmer, I Want to Teach My Child about Money, page 28:
  Money doesn't grow on trees — and even the paper for money isn't made of wood!

Synonyms

there's no such thing as a free lunch

Related terms

money tree, magic money tree

Translations

Arabic: اَلْسَمَاء لَا تُمْطِرُ ذَهَبًا وَلَا فِضَّة (al-samāʔ lā tumṭiru ḏahaban walā fiḍḍa, literally “the sky doesn't rain gold or silver”)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 樹不生錢／树不生钱 (shù bù shēng qián)
Dutch: het geld groeit me niet op de rug (literally “money isn't growing on my back”)
Estonian: raha ei kasva puu otsas
Finnish: raha ei kasva puussa (fi)
French: l’argent ne tombe pas du ciel (fr) (literally “money doesn't fall from the sky”)
German: das Geld liegt nicht auf der Straße (literally “money is not on the street”)
Greek: τα λεφτά δεν φυτρώνουν στα δέντρα (ta leftá den fytrónoun sta déntra)
Hebrew: כסף לא צומח על העצים
Hungarian: nincs kolbászból fonva a kerítés (hu)
Icelandic: peningar vaxa ekki á trjám
Italian: i soldi non crescono sugli alberi
Japanese: 木にお金は生えない (ki ni o-kane ha haenai)
Kannada: ಕೈ ಕೆಸರಾದರೆ ಬಾಯ್ ಮೊಸರು (kai kesarādare bāy mosaru)
Korean: 땅을 파봐라, 돈이 나오나 (ttang'eul pabwara, doni naona, literally “try digging in the earth and see if you can find money”)
Lithuanian: pinigai ant medžių neauga
Maltese: il-flus ma jikbrux fis-siġar
Norwegian:
Bokmål: penger vokser ikke på trær

Nynorsk: pengar voksar ikkje på tre
Polish: pieniądze nie spadają z nieba (literally “money doesn't fall from the sky”)
Portuguese: dinheiro não cresce em árvores
Romanian: banii nu pică din cer (literally “money doesn't fall from the sky”)
Russian: де́ньги не расту́т на дере́вьях (dénʹgi ne rastút na derévʹjax), де́ньги с не́ба не па́дают (dénʹgi s néba ne pádajut, literally “money doesn't fall from the sky”)
Spanish: el dinero no crece en los árboles
Swedish: pengar växer inte på träd
Tamil: பணம் மரங்களில் வளராது (paṇam maraṅkaḷil vaḷarātu)
Thai: เงินไม่ได้เติบโตบนต้นไม้
Turkish: parasını sokakta bulmamak (literally “not to find one's money on the street”)
Ukrainian: гроші не ростуть на деревах (hroši ne rostutʹ na derevax)
Vietnamese: tiền không mọc trên cây

References

Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 235.

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money doesn't grow on trees

English

Proverb

Synonyms

Related terms

Translations

See also

References