Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«No vendas la piel del oso antes de cazarlo.»
Word for word
Do not sell the bear's skin before hunting it.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
Used to warn someone against making plans or celebrating based on something that hasn't happened yet. Common throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
Also said as
- No vendas la piel del oso antes de haberlo cazado.
Hear it in a sentence
No celebres el contrato todavía; no vendas la piel del oso antes de cazarlo.
Don't celebrate the contract yet; don't count your chickens before they hatch.
More Spanish sayings
- Quien mal anda, mal acaba. — Those who go astray come to a bad end.
- Hombre precavido vale por dos. — A cautious man is worth two.
- El hombre propone y Dios dispone. — Man proposes, God disposes.
- En martes, ni te cases ni te embarques. — Tuesday is unlucky: Spain's Friday the 13th.
- El amor es ciego. — Love is blind.
Why learn dichos?
Proverbs like this one are everywhere in spoken Spanish — dropped mid-conversation, usually just the first half, with the rest left for you to complete. Recognizing them is one of the fastest ways to sound less like a textbook and follow real speech. Every Lingocito edition signs off with the dicho del día, so you meet one a day next to news written at your level.