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【No. 1925】Yausumono Gai no Zeni Ushinai (安物買いの銭失い - Penny Wise and Pound Foolish)

Aug 3, 2021 16:27
Yausumono Gai no Zeni Ushinai

I like to go to 100-yen shops, however, after buying a good, it sometimes breaks down soon.

To describe such a situation, you can use the Japanese proverb yasumono gai no zeni ushinai (安物買いの銭失い).

Since yasu (安) means "cheap," mono (物) means "thing," gai/kai (買い) means "to buy," zeni (銭) means "money," and ushinai (失い) means "to lose," yasumono gai no zeni ushinai literally means "to buy cheap things and lose money."

In other words, the quality of cheap things is often poor, so buying cheap goods means losing more money for replacement or repair.
安物買いの銭失い

私は100円ショップが好きですが、たまに、買ってもすぐに壊れてしまうことがあります。

このようなことを表すことわざに、「安物買いの銭失い」があります。

「安」は "cheap"、「物」は "thing"、「買い」は "to buy"、「銭」は "money"、「失い」は "to lose" を意味するので、「安物買いの銭失い」の意味は文字どおり "to buy cheap things and lose money" となります。

安いものは品質が悪く、結局修理や買い替えのため、かえって高くつくかもしれないというわけです。

Corrections (1)

No. 1 hakuame
  • I like to go to 100-yen shops, however, after buying a good, it sometimes breaks down soon.
  • I like to go to 100-yen shops, however, after buying something, it sometimes breaks down soon.
  • To describe such a situation, you can use the Japanese proverb 'yasumono gai no zeni ushinai' (安物買いの銭失い).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Since 'yasu' (安) means "cheap," 'mono' (物) means "thing," 'gai/kai' (買い) means "to buy," 'zeni' (銭) means "money," and 'ushinai' (失い) means "to lose," 'yasumono gai no zeni ushinai' literally means "to buy cheap things and lose money."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • In other words, the quality of cheap things is often poor, so buying cheap goods means losing more money for replacement or repair.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
Toru
Thank you for the correction! :)

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