count one's blessings

verb

To focus one's attention on the circumstances of one's life which are pleasant or fortunate, especially with the intention of diverting one's thoughts from serious or disagreeable matters.

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Meanings

verbcount one's blessings (third-person singular simple present counts one's blessings, present participle counting one's blessings, simple past and past participle counted one's blessings)

present singular third person counts one's blessings · participle present counting one's blessings · participle past counted one's blessings · past counted one's blessings

  1. idiomaticTo focus one's attention on the circumstances of one's life which are pleasant or fortunate, especially with the intention of diverting one's thoughts from serious or disagreeable matters.

    Rupert Murdoch isn't somebody to sit back and count his blessings.

    1995 May 22, Richard Lacayo et al., “Bart Simpson Calling”, in Time
    2 more examples

    Of course if she begins to preach, and to tell me to count my blessings, I shall send her away.

    1915, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 3, in Pollyanna Grows Up, The Page Company

    The other out-of-town Dons patiently listened, perhaps counting their blessings that each had a city all to himself.

    2006, Mark Winegardner, The Godfather's Revenge, →ISBN, page 175

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 知足
  • 知足 (zhīzú)count one's blessings
Finnish keskittyä asioiden hyviin puoliin
  • keskittyä asioiden hyviin puoliincount one's blessings
French voir le bon côté des choses
  • voir le bon côté des chosescount one's blessings
German no exact idiomatic equivalent, but see sich glücklich schätzen
  • no exact idiomatic equivalentcount one's blessings
  • but see sich glücklich schätzencount one's blessings
  • heilfroh seincount one's blessings
  • sich zufrieden gebencount one's blessings
  • otherwise one can say den Blick auf die guten Seiten des Lebens richtencount one's blessings
  • sich daran freuen, was man hatcount one's blessings
Norwegian Bokmål telle sine velsignelser
  • telle sine velsignelsercount one's blessings
Polish but see ciesz się tym, co masz
  • but see ciesz się tym, co maszcount one's blessings
Cite this entry
APA

count one's blessings. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/count%20one's%20blessings

MLA

“count one's blessings.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/count%20one's%20blessings. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “count one's blessings,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/count%20one's%20blessings.

Source: count one's blessings on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.