巧婦難為無米之炊 qiǎo fù nán wéi wú mǐ zhī chuī

DEFINITIONS

  1. The cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice (idiom); You won't get anywhere without equipment.

CHARACTERS

巧 qiǎo
HSK 4
skillful, ingenious, clever
婦 fù married women; woman; wife
難 nán difficult, arduous, hard; unable
為 wéi do, handle, govern, act; be
無 wú negative, no, not; lack, have no
米 mǐ
HSK 1
hulled or husked uncooked rice
之 zhī
HSK 4
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
炊 chuī
HSK 6
cook; meal