不以规矩，不能成方圆
bù​yǐ​guī​ju​bù​néng​chéng​fāng​yuán

without rules, nothing can be done

  • created sense approved 不以规矩，不能成方圆/不以規矩，不能成方圓 · bù​yǐ​guī​ju​bù​néng​chéng​fāng​yuán · without rules, nothing can be done — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    不以规矩，不能成方圆 / 不以規矩，不能成方圓

    bù​yǐ​guī​ju​bù​néng​chéng​fāng​yuán

    without rules, nothing can be done

    An idiom from Mencius meaning that without standards or rules, nothing can be accomplished; emphasizes the necessity of following established guidelines.

    不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 以 (literal) → 以 · yǐ · by means of 规矩 (literal) → 规矩/規矩 · guī​ju · rule ， (non_chinese) 不能 (literal) → 不能 · bù​néng · cannot 成 (literal) → 成 · chéng · to become 方圆 (literal) → 方圆/方圓 · fāng​yuán · squares and circles

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense