there's no such thing as a free lunch

English

Proverb

there's no such thing as a free lunch

1. Nothing is free; even things that appear free often have to be paid in the end.

Synonyms

• (nothing is free): TANSTAAFL, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch, TINSTAAFL

Related terms

• free lunch

See also

• you don't get something for nothing

Translations

nothing is free; everything has a price

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: ningú dóna duros a quatre pessetes
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 天下沒有白吃的午餐／天下没有白吃的午餐 (tiānxià méiyǒu báichī de wǔcān), 天下没有白吃的午餐 (tiānxià méiyǒu báichī de wǔcān)

• Finnish: ilmaisia lounaita ei ole
• French: on n’a rien sans rien (fr)
• German: nichts ist umsonst; es wird einem nichts geschenkt
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: semmi sincs ingyen, semmit nem adnak ingyen
• Italian: i soldi non crescono sugli alberi
• Japanese: 只より高いものはない (ja) (tada-yori takai mono-wa nai)
• Norwegian: ingenting i livet er gratis
• Portuguese: não existe almoço de graça, não existe almoço grátis
• Russian: беспла́тный сыр быва́ет то́лько в мышело́вке (besplátnyj syr byvájet tólʹko v myšelóvke) (lit: free cheese may be only in a mouse-trap)
• Turkish: bedava yemek diye bir şey yoktur