"you get what you pay for" meaning in English

See you get what you pay for in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Head templates: {{head|en|proverb}} you get what you pay for
  1. In commercial transactions, the quality of goods and services increases as the prices increase, i.e., the more one pays, the better the merchandise. Derived forms: YGWYPF Related terms: if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys, money's worth, value for money, who pays the piper calls the tune, you buy cheap, you get cheap, you pays your money and you takes your choice Translations (quality of goods increases as the prices increases): 一分錢,一分貨 /一分钱 (Chinese Cantonese), 一分货 (jat¹ fan¹ cin⁴, jat¹ fan¹ fo³) (Chinese Cantonese), 一分錢,一分貨 /一分钱 (Chinese Mandarin), 一分货 (yī fēn qián, yī fēn huò) (Chinese Mandarin), du får, hvad du betaler for (Danish), sitä saat, mitä tilaat (Finnish), en avoir pour son argent (French), Qualität hat ihren Preis (German), olcsó húsnak híg a leve (Hungarian), ada rupa, ada harga (Indonesian), 安物買いの銭失い (yasumonogai no zeni ushinai) (alt: やすものがいのぜにうしない) (Japanese), jakość ma swoją cenę (Polish), nadie da duros a pesetas (Spanish), el que quiere celeste que le cueste (Spanish), man får vad man betalar för (Swedish), tiền nào của nấy (Vietnamese), tiền nào của đó (Vietnamese), tiền nào của đấy (Vietnamese), tiền nào của ấy (Vietnamese)

Alternative forms

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      "expansion": "you get what you pay for",
      "name": "head"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
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          "ref": "1991 October 28, Janice Castro, Richard Woodbury, “The Man Who Fired a Dog To Save a Buck”, in Time, retrieved 2018-11-04:",
          "text": "You get what you pay for. If you want a lower price, you can go to Motel 6..",
          "type": "quote"
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        "In commercial transactions, the quality of goods and services increases as the prices increase, i.e., the more one pays, the better the merchandise."
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        [
          "commercial",
          "commercial"
        ],
        [
          "transaction",
          "transaction"
        ],
        [
          "goods",
          "goods"
        ],
        [
          "services",
          "services"
        ],
        [
          "price",
          "price"
        ],
        [
          "i.e.",
          "i.e."
        ],
        [
          "merchandise",
          "merchandise"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"
        },
        {
          "word": "money's worth"
        },
        {
          "word": "value for money"
        },
        {
          "word": "who pays the piper calls the tune"
        },
        {
          "word": "you buy cheap, you get cheap"
        },
        {
          "word": "you pays your money and you takes your choice"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "一分錢,一分貨 /一分钱"
        },
        {
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "roman": "jat¹ fan¹ cin⁴, jat¹ fan¹ fo³",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "一分货"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "一分錢,一分貨 /一分钱"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "yī fēn qián, yī fēn huò",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "一分货"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "du får, hvad du betaler for"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "sitä saat, mitä tilaat"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "en avoir pour son argent"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "Qualität hat ihren Preis"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "olcsó húsnak híg a leve"
        },
        {
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "ada rupa, ada harga"
        },
        {
          "alt": "やすものがいのぜにうしない",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yasumonogai no zeni ushinai",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "安物買いの銭失い"
        },
        {
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "note": "колку пари, толку музика (kolku pari, tolku muzika, literally “as much music as there is money”)",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "jakość ma swoją cenę"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "nadie da duros a pesetas"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "el que quiere celeste que le cueste"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "man får vad man betalar för"
        },
        {
          "code": "tg",
          "lang": "Tajik",
          "note": "ба пулдор кабоб, ба бепул дуди кабоб (ba puldor kabob, ba bepul dud-i kabob, literally “kebab for the one who has money, kebab smoke for the one who doesn't”)",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "tiền nào của nấy"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "tiền nào của đó"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "tiền nào của đấy"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
          "word": "tiền nào của ấy"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "you get what you pay for"
}
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  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "YGWYPF"
    }
  ],
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"
    },
    {
      "word": "money's worth"
    },
    {
      "word": "value for money"
    },
    {
      "word": "who pays the piper calls the tune"
    },
    {
      "word": "you buy cheap, you get cheap"
    },
    {
      "word": "you pays your money and you takes your choice"
    }
  ],
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        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
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        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Macedonian translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations",
        "Terms with Tajik translations",
        "Terms with Vietnamese translations"
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          "text": "You get what you pay for. If you want a lower price, you can go to Motel 6..",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In commercial transactions, the quality of goods and services increases as the prices increase, i.e., the more one pays, the better the merchandise."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "commercial",
          "commercial"
        ],
        [
          "transaction",
          "transaction"
        ],
        [
          "goods",
          "goods"
        ],
        [
          "services",
          "services"
        ],
        [
          "price",
          "price"
        ],
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          "i.e.",
          "i.e."
        ],
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          "merchandise",
          "merchandise"
        ]
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "一分錢,一分貨 /一分钱"
    },
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "roman": "jat¹ fan¹ cin⁴, jat¹ fan¹ fo³",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "一分货"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "一分錢,一分貨 /一分钱"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "yī fēn qián, yī fēn huò",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "一分货"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "du får, hvad du betaler for"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "sitä saat, mitä tilaat"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "en avoir pour son argent"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "Qualität hat ihren Preis"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "olcsó húsnak híg a leve"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "ada rupa, ada harga"
    },
    {
      "alt": "やすものがいのぜにうしない",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yasumonogai no zeni ushinai",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "安物買いの銭失い"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "note": "колку пари, толку музика (kolku pari, tolku muzika, literally “as much music as there is money”)",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "jakość ma swoją cenę"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "nadie da duros a pesetas"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "el que quiere celeste que le cueste"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "man får vad man betalar för"
    },
    {
      "code": "tg",
      "lang": "Tajik",
      "note": "ба пулдор кабоб, ба бепул дуди кабоб (ba puldor kabob, ba bepul dud-i kabob, literally “kebab for the one who has money, kebab smoke for the one who doesn't”)",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "tiền nào của nấy"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "tiền nào của đó"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "tiền nào của đấy"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "quality of goods increases as the prices increases",
      "word": "tiền nào của ấy"
    }
  ],
  "word": "you get what you pay for"
}

Download raw JSONL data for you get what you pay for meaning in English (5.3kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-05-19 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-05-01 using wiktextract (c3cc510 and 1d3fdbf). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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