money doesn't grow on trees

English

Proverb

money doesn't grow on trees

1. 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

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

See also

• a buck's a buck
• money talks
• money does not smell

References

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