八字还没一撇儿

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

eight

letter

hái

still

méi

(negative prefix for verbs) have not; not

one

piě

to throw

r

non-syllabic diminutive suffix