don't count your chickens before they're hatched

English

Alternative forms

• don't count your chickens before they hatch

Proverb

don't count your chickens before they're hatched

Wikipedia

1. You should not count on something before it happens.
2. You should not expect all of your hopes to be fulfilled.

Translations

don't count on things if you don't have them yet

• Arabic: لا تشتري السمك وهو في البحر بل انتظر حتى يصطاد (ar)

  Moroccan Arabic: ما تگول عشرة حتّى تكون وحدة في التلّيس (ma tgol 3echra Hetta tkon weheda fi t-tellis)

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (勿打)如意算盤 (cmn), 如意算盘 (cmn) (wù dǎ rúyìsuànpán), (別)一廂情願 (cmn), 一厢情愿 (cmn) (bié yīxiāngqíngyuàn), (別做)白日夢 (cmn), 白日梦 (cmn) (bié zuò báirìmèng)

• Czech: neříkej hop, dokud nepřeskočíš
• Danish: pels ikke bjørnen før den er skudt (da)
• Dutch: de huid niet verkopen voor de beer geschoten is
• Esperanto: la manĝota fiŝo estas ankoraŭ en la rivero (eo)
• Finnish: älä nuolaise ennen kuin tipahtaa (don't lick before it drops)
• French: il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué (fr) (don't sell the bearskin before you have killed it)
• German: mache keine Milchmädchenrechnung (de)
• Hungarian: ne igyál előre a medve bőrére (hu)
• Icelandic: (count one's chickens before they're hatched) hrósa happi of snemma (is), (the cabbage isn't in the mouth though it is in the ladle) ekki er sopið kálið þótt í ausuna sé komið (is), (the cabbage isn't in the mouth though it is in the ladle) ekki er sopið kálið þó í ausuna sé komið (is), (the bird shall be caught before it's cooked) fyrr skal fuglinn veiddur en steiktur (is)

• Italian: non dire gatto se non ce l'hai nel sacco (it)
• Japanese: 捕らぬ狸の皮算用 (ja) (toranu tanuki no kawazanyō)
• Korean: 김칫국부터 마시지 마라 (ko) (gimchitgugbuteo masiji mala)
• Latin: ante victoriam ne canas triumphum (don't sing triumphs before the victory)
• Navajo: tʼáadoo danitʼání íítiʼ (snap off ears of corn before they are ripe)
• Norwegian: ikke selg skinnet før bjørnen er skutt (no)
• Polish: nie dziel skóry na niedźwiedziu (don't divide the pelt of the bear not yet killed)
• Russian: цыплят по осени считают (ru) (cyplját po óseni sčitájut), не дели шкуру неубитого медведя (ru) (ne delí škúru neubítovo medvédja)
• Scottish Gaelic: na h-abair diug a choidhche ris an eun gus an dig e ás an ugh
• Spanish: no vender la piel del oso antes de cazarlo (es)
• Swedish: sälj inte skinnet innan björnen är skjuten, ta inte ut segern i förskott
• Walloon: i n' fåt nén vinde l' oû k' est co e cou del poye (wa)

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, ISBN 0-679-44554-4, p. 63.