Proverb – Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
Don’t make plans that depend on something good happening until it has actually happened.
Maya had a great job interview, and she’s already planning how to spend her first pay cheque. But the company hasn’t offered her the job yet. Don’t count your chickens!
When a hen sits on her eggs, not every egg will hatch. So if you count your chickens while they’re still eggs, you’ll probably get the wrong number! The idea is very old. In one of Aesop’s fables, The Milkmaid and Her Pail, a girl carrying milk to market daydreams about the eggs, chickens and new dress she’ll buy with the money. She tosses her head, the pail falls, and the milk is lost. In English, the proverb is usually traced back to 1570, when Thomas Howell wrote: “Counte not thy Chickens that unhatched be”.
How to Use It
- It’s often shortened to don’t count your chickens: “We haven’t won yet. Don’t count your chickens!“
- It’s usually a friendly warning: “I wouldn’t count my chickens just yet.”
- You’ll also hear before they’re hatched: “We were counting our chickens before they were hatched.”
Note: the person isn’t really counting chickens! The proverb is about money, plans and hopes that haven’t happened yet.
More bird idioms: Kill Two Birds With One Stone, Chicken and Canary in the Coal Mine.
Example:
- “The job isn’t yours yet, so don’t count your chickens!”
- “We’re 2–0 up at half-time, but don’t count your chickens. There are still 45 minutes to play.”
- “Don’t book that holiday until the bonus is in your bank account. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
Learn More
Look it upThe Milkmaid and Her PailWikipediaWhat is a proverb?
A proverb is a short, useful and well-known expression. A proverb will state a general or obvious truth or a useful piece of advice. A proverb might teach you how to have a good life. A proverb may teach you to be healthy or kind.
Love animal idioms? See our full list of 50 animal idioms in English, with meanings and examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means you shouldn’t make plans that depend on something good happening until it has actually happened.
The idea appears in Aesop’s fable The Milkmaid and Her Pail. In English, the proverb is usually traced back to Thomas Howell in 1570: “Counte not thy Chickens that unhatched be”.
Yes. People often just say “Don’t count your chickens!” Everyone knows the rest.
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