巧妇难为无米之炊 in English qiao3 fu4 nan2 wei2 wu2 mi3 zhi1 chui1 Meaning

Meanings

  • The cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice (idiomatic expression); You won't get anywhere without equipment.

Simplified Characters

巧 妇 难 为 无 米 之 炊

Traditional Characters

巧 婦 難 為 無 米 之 炊

Pinyin

qiao3 fu4 nan2 wei2 wu2 mi3 zhi1 chui1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

巧qiao3opportunely 妇fu4woman 难nan2difficult (to...) 为wei4as (in the capacity of) 无wu2not to have 米mi3surname Mi 之zhi1(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) 炊chui1to cook food