bā zì hái méi yī piě r
lit. there is not even the first stroke of the character 八[ba1] (idiom)
fig. things have not even begun to take shape; no sign of success yet
八
bā
eight
字
zì
letter
还
hái
still
没
méi
(negative prefix for verbs) have not; not
一
yī
one
撇
piě
to throw
儿
r
non-syllabic diminutive suffix