"It's the thought that counts" means that the intention behind a gift is more important than the actual gift.
Have you ever heard of the proverb “it’s the thought that counts”?
A friend recently told me a story about how he prepared a birthday cake for his wife when he was in graduate school. He faced a problem. He didn’t have enough ingredients to fill the baking pan to make a properly sized birthday cake.
So he asked his wife indirectly about which ingredients to use to make a baked good expand and she suggested baking soda or baking powder. From what he told me, it sounded as if he used baking powder, because the finished product tasted like chemicals, even though it expanded nicely in the pan.
His attempt failed, but I thought to myself, I hope his wife appreciated his efforts and said, “it’s the thought that counts”.
In situations where a gift is given or someone tries to do something nice, but the result isn’t as good as it should be, we say “it is the thought that counts”. It is best to be gracious and courteous in this situation and appreciate the effort.
“It’s the thought that counts” could also be used where a gift is given which isn’t too expensive, but shows a great depth of consideration by the giver.
Examples: ”Since they only recently met, Bob didn’t know that Karen didn’t like chocolate. Karen smiled, thanked him for the gift and said to herself, ‘That was sweet. It is the thought that counts‘.”
How do you say “it is the thought that counts” in Chinese?
If you want to read some about some other English phrases about gifts read:
- ingredient – one of the things that we use make food or prepare a meal
- appreciate – to be grateful or thankful for something, to understand something’s importance
- gracious – being polite in a way that shows respect
- consideration – thoughtfulness, careful thought
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:59 — 3.9MB)
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I would say 心意最重要；重在心意 in this situation.