Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

don't count your chickens before they're hatched

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.14 in modern English

Syllables
don't -coun-t y-our chick-en-s be-fore they're hatched
IPA
77
Scrabble Score
40
Letters
7
Syllables
16
Unique Chars

Meaning

proverb

One should not depend upon a favorable (and typically overoptimistic) outcome to one's plans until it is certain to occur.

Example Sentences

Etymology

First attested in English in Thomas Howell's 1570 New Sonnets and Pretty Pamphlets in the couplet "Counte not thy Chickens that vnhatched be, / Waye wordes as winde, till thou finde certaintee", possibly deriving from similar medieval and early modern Latin fables and maxims.

Inflected Forms

don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched (alternative) don't count your chickens before they hatch (alternative) don't count your chickens before they've hatched (alternative) don't count your chicks before they hatch (alternative) don't count your chicks before they're hatched (alternative) don't count your chickens (alternative) don't count your chicks (alternative)

Phrases

halloo before one is out of the wood it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings out of the woods

Frequently Paired Words

halloo before one is out of the wood it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings out of the woods

Synonyms

don't get your hopes up don't sell the skin till you have caught the bear

Questions

What does don't count your chickens before they're hatched mean?
One should not depend upon a favorable (and typically overoptimistic) outcome to one's plans until it is certain to occur.
Where does don't count your chickens before they're hatched come from?
First attested in English in Thomas Howell's 1570 New Sonnets and Pretty Pamphlets in the couplet "Counte not thy Chickens that vnhatched be, / Waye wordes as winde, till thou finde certaintee", possibly deriving from similar medieval and early modern Latin fables and maxims.

How to pronounce don't count your chickens before they're hatched

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