Don't count your chickens before they hatch means that you shouldn't depend on a favorable outcome until it is certain. You shouldn't assume that all your eggs will hatch into healthy chicks and grow into chickens. Do you have a story about this proverb? Share below!
The first written record of this common English proverb is
a sonnet written in 1570 by Thomas Howell:
Count not thy Chickens that unhatched be,
Weigh words as wind, till thou find certainty
Many languages have proverbs that convey a similar principle.
Swahili:
Tujivune hatimaye.
Let's praise ourselves at the end.
French:
Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué.
Don't sell the skin of the bear before killing it.
Arabic:
لا تشتري السمك وهو في البحر بل انتظر حتى يصطاد
Do not buy a fish while it is in the sea; wait until it is caught.
German:
Man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben.
Don't praise the day before the evening.
Latin:
Ante victoriam ne canas triumphum
Don't sing triumphs before the victory.
Portuguese:
Não conte com o ovo dentro da galinha.
Don't count on the egg inside the chicken.