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Nothing is free; even things that appear free often have to be paid for in the end.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: TANSTAAFL, TINSTAAFL
Antonyms: none provided
In use since the 1930s. Popularized by the American economist Milton Friedman through the title of a 1975 book, and frequently misattributed to him.
Across languages
Translations
25 source translations are retained for this English entry.
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Bulgarian:
няма такова нещо като безплатен обяд
(njama takova nešto kato bezplaten objad)
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Bulgarian:
няма безплатен обяд
(njama bezplaten objad)
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Catalan:
ningú dóna duros a quatre pessetes
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
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)
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Chinese Mandarin:
天下沒有免費的午餐 /天下没有免费的午餐
(tiānxià méiyǒu miǎnfèi de wǔcān)
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Chinese Mandarin:
世上沒有免費的午餐 /世上没有免费的午餐
(shìshàng méiyǒu miǎnfèi de wǔcān)
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Czech:
žádný oběd není zadarmo
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Finnish:
ilmaisia lounaita ei ole
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
French:
on n'a rien sans rien
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
French:
tout a un prix
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
German:
nichts ist umsonst
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
German:
es wird einem nichts geschenkt
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Hebrew:
אין ארוחות חינם
(ēn arukhot ḥinám)
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Hungarian:
semmi sincs ingyen
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Hungarian:
semmit nem adnak ingyen
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Hungarian:
semmit sem adnak ajándékba
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Italian:
i soldi non crescono sugli alberi
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Japanese:
只より高いものはない
(tada-yori takai mono-wa nai)
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Norwegian:
ingenting i livet er gratis
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Polish:
nic nie jest za darmo
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Portuguese:
não existe almoço de graça
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Portuguese:
não existe almoço grátis
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Serbo-Croatian:
nema besplatnog ručka
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Turkish:
bedava yemek diye bir şey yoktur
— nothing is free; everything has a price
-
Ukrainian:
немає такої речі, як безкоштовний обід
(nemaje takoji reči, jak bezkoštovnyj obid)
— nothing is free; everything has a price
