- English translation
People would rather pay a high price at the market than settle for the inexpensive thing already at home.
- Literal wording
Better the costly thing from the market than the cheap thing from the house.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying observes that people prize what they still have to buy over what they already own. Something kept at home counts as cheap because it is already in hand and costs nothing more, not because it is poorer in quality. It loses its appeal simply for being theirs, while a pricey market item looks more tempting.
It treats this pull toward the unowned as an ordinary part of human nature, not as practical advice to buy expensive goods over cheap ones. Possessing a thing dulls the wish for it, and the costlier option elsewhere draws the eye. So it is hardly surprising when someone neglects a good thing close by.
- When it is used
Use it when someone passes over a perfectly good thing they already have and chases a pricier alternative elsewhere, whether goods, food or services. It suits a wry or mildly reproachful remark about valuing what lies out of reach over what is familiar.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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