proverb · Words worth keeping
Count not your chickens before they be hatched.
Count not your chickens before they be hatched.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Do not treat an expected result as already secured. Plan with uncertainty in view rather than making commitments that depend entirely on an outcome that has not yet happened.
Example
An organiser waits for written confirmation of a room before issuing invitations that depend on that location, while preparing an alternative if it falls through.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The eggs represent a possible future benefit, while the chickens are what the person hopes to obtain. Counting them beforehand turns that expectation into a possession that does not yet exist. Figuratively, an anticipated place, delivery or successful application may be spoken of as though it were confirmed. The warning does not forbid hope, preparation or estimating likely outcomes. It asks which parts of a plan remain conditional and what would happen if the expectation were not met. Distinguishing confirmed resources from possible ones helps a person prepare without promising others more than can responsibly be assured.
When to use it
Use it when a future possibility is being treated as a confirmed resource or result.
Keep in mind
Hope and preparation are legitimate; the concern is premature certainty, not every prediction or plan.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English