不见兔子不撒鹰

bù jiàn tù zi bù sā yīng

you don't release the hawk until you've seen the hare (idiom)

one doesn't act before one is sure to succeed

不

bù

no; not so

见

jiàn

to see

兔

tù

variant of 兔[tu4]

子

zi

noun suffix, as in 椅子[yi3 zi5] "chair"

不

bù

no; not so

撒

sā

to let go

鹰

yīng

general term for a bird of prey (eagle, hawk or falcon etc)