没有规矩,何以成方圆

méi yǒu guī ju , hé yǐ chéng fāng yuán

without rules, how can anything be done (idiom); one must follow some rules

没

méi

(negative prefix for verbs) have not; not

有

yǒu

to have; there is

规

guī

compass

矩

ju

carpenter's square

,

,

何

hé

what

以

yǐ

abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4]

成

chéng

short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1]

方

fāng

square

圆

yuán

circle