不以规矩,不能成方圆

bù yǐ guī ju , bù néng chéng fāng yuán

without rules, nothing can be done (idiom, from Mencius); one must follow some rules

不

bù

no; not so

以

yǐ

abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4]

规

guī

compass

矩

ju

carpenter's square

,

,

不

bù

no; not so

能

néng

can

成

chéng

short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1]

方

fāng

square

圆

yuán

circle