# don't count your chickens before they hatch

idiom · CEFR B1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/dont-count-your-chickens-before-they-hatch
Updated: 2026-06-07

## Meaning

Don't count on something good happening until it's happened.

## Examples

- I know you want the job, but don't count your chickens before they hatch.
- He is already planning his victory party, but I told him not to count his chickens before they hatch.
- Although the initial sales figures are promising, the board advised the investors not to count their chickens before they hatch until the final quarterly report is released.

## Origin

From Aesop's fable 'The Milkmaid and Her Pail'; the English proverb form appears in Thomas Howell's New Sonnets (c. 1570).

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.