expression
the grass is always greener on the other side
Proverb meaning that other people's things or situations often seem better than one's own. The literal image is that the neighbor's salted rice-bran paste smells sweeter.
「隣の糂粏味噌」ということわざがある。
There is a proverb, 'the neighbor's salted rice-bran paste.'
彼はいつも隣の芝生が青く見えると言うが、まさに隣の糂粏味噌だ。
He always says the grass is greener on the other side; it's exactly 'the neighbor's salted rice-bran paste.'
A more common Japanese proverb with the same meaning, literally 'the neighbor's lawn is green.'
The exact origin is uncertain. The phrase uses 糂粏 (jinda), an old term for salted rice-bran paste used in pickling, to suggest that even a neighbor's humble miso seems more appealing.