八字還沒一撇

See also: 八字还没一撇

Chinese

		the character 八	yet, still	has not	one	left-falling stroke
trad. (八字還沒一撇)		八字	還	沒	一	撇
simp. (八字还没一撇)		八字	还	没	一	撇
Literally: “there is not even the first stroke of the character 八 (considered one of the simplest characters)”.

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Guoyu Cidian has four theories”)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bāzì hái méi yī piě

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄚ ㄗˋ ㄏㄞˊ ㄇㄟˊ ㄧ ㄆㄧㄝˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): baat³ zi⁶ waan⁴ mut⁶ jat¹ pit³

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bāzì hái méi yī piě [Phonetic: bāzì hái méi yì piě]
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄚ ㄗˋ ㄏㄞˊ ㄇㄟˊ ㄧ ㄆㄧㄝˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bazìh hái méi yi piě
    • Wade–Giles: pa¹-tzŭ⁴ hai² mei² i¹ pʻieh³
    • Yale: bā-dz̀ hái méi yī pyě
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: batzyh hair mei i piee
    • Palladius: бацзы хай мэй и пе (baczy xaj mɛj i pe)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pä⁵⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹ xaɪ̯³⁵ meɪ̯³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (八字還沒一撇兒／八字还没一撇儿)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bāzìháiméiyīpiěr [Phonetic: bāzìháiméiyìpiěr]
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄚ ㄗˋ ㄏㄞˊ ㄇㄟˊ ㄧ ㄆㄧㄝˇㄦ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bazìhháiméiyipiěr
    • Wade–Giles: pa¹-tzŭ⁴-hai²-mei²-i¹-pʻieh³-ʼrh
    • Yale: bā-dz̀-hái-méi-yī-pyěr
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: batzyhhairmeiipieel
    • Palladius: бацзыхаймэйипер (baczyxajmɛjiper)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pä⁵⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹ xaɪ̯³⁵ meɪ̯³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰi̯ɛɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: baat³ zi⁶ waan⁴ mut⁶ jat¹ pit³
    • Yale: baat jih wàahn muht yāt pit
    • Cantonese Pinyin: baat⁸ dzi⁶ waan⁴ mut⁹ jat⁷ pit⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: bad³ ji⁶ wan⁴ mud⁶ yed¹ pid³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /paːt̚³ t͡siː²² waːn²¹ muːt̚² jɐt̚⁵ pʰiːt̚³/

Idiom

八字還沒一撇

1. nothing tangible in sight; things have not even begun to take shape; there's not the slightest sign of success yet

Synonyms

• 八字都沒一撇／八字都没一撇 (bāzì dōu méi yī piě)
• 不知端倪
• 眉目不清
• 茫無頭緒／茫无头绪

Dialectal synonyms of 八字沒一撇 (“nothing tangible in sight; things have not even begun to take shape”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		八字沒一撇
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	八字兒沒一撇兒, 八字兒還沒一撇兒
	Taiwan	八字沒一撇, 八字還沒一撇, 八字沒有一撇, 八字還沒有一撇
Cantonese	Guangzhou	十劃都未有一撇, 十字未有一劃
	Hong Kong	十劃都未有一撇, 十劃都冇一撇
Southern Min	Xiamen	八字無一撇
	Quanzhou	八字無一撇
	Zhangzhou	八字無一撇