count our blessings

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiom

   To remember and feel grateful for the good things in your life, especially when you are unhappy about something.

   Grammar: The possessive pronoun changes to match the subject: I should count my blessings; she counts her blessings.

   Patterns

   • count your blessings
   • count our blessings
   • tell someone to count their blessings

   Instead of complaining about the rain, let's count our blessings and be glad we have a warm home.

   After the accident, she began to count her blessings every morning.

   You have a loving family and good health, so count your blessings.

Common combinations

count your blessings

When you feel jealous of others, count your blessings.

sit down and count your blessings

He sat down and counted his blessings after a difficult year.

time to count our blessings

Thanksgiving is a time to count our blessings.

remind someone to count their blessings

Her grandmother reminded her to count her blessings.

Synonyms and how they differ

be grateful

This states the feeling directly, while 'count your blessings' is a more vivid idiom that tells someone to think about the good things.

appreciate what you have

This is a plain phrase with a similar meaning but less emotional punch.

look on the bright side

This focuses on finding something positive in a bad situation, whereas counting your blessings focuses on feeling thankful for what you already have.

Opposites

Word family

blessing noun

Something good that you are thankful for.

blessed adjective

Having good things in life; lucky and grateful.

Commonly confused: count our blessings or blessing?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “count our blessings”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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