巧妇难为无米之炊

巧妇难为无米之炊

Literally means:

the cleverest housewife cannot cook a meal without rice

Actually means:

one cannot make something out of nothing

炊 refers to cooking with fire.

This means even the cleverest housewife can't cook a Chinese meal without rice. It figuratively means, however smart or capable a person is, he cannot get a thing done without necessary working conditions. It connotes a resigned tone.

炊，烧火做饭。

巧妇难为无米之炊，即使是聪明能干的妇女，没米也做不出饭来。比喻缺少必要的条件，再能于的人也做不成事含有的意味。