Translate this?

xiaomai4
 December 29, 2012, 06:39 PM posted in General Discussion

你  不能     贪   小   便宜.  Anyone help me?  Thanks Matthew 

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floalvarez
 December 29, 2012, 09:09 PM

I think this is somewhat similar to a Spanish saying: "Lo barato es caro". What you think is a cheap or a bargain turns out to be expensive or wasteful. Hope this helps.

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xiaomai4
 January 02, 2013, 03:34 PM

Don't be so tight... [translation]

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John
 January 04, 2013, 09:55 AM

Not an expression I ever use, but my dictionary lists "贪小便宜" as "to covet little advantages."

I've seen it translated as "keen on gaining petty advantages" as well.

It might help if you know 占便宜, which means "to take advantage."

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xiaomai4

Thanks again John. I asked a few people this and struggled to get a good answer. I saw this on another website and the translation was terrible! "You shouldn't be keen on gaining petty advantages" is good. Not an expression I would use either, but it was bugging me how to translate it, thanks a lot!