需
要
是
发
明
之
母
x
ū
y
à
o
s
h
ì
f
ā
m
í
n
g
z
h
ī
m
ǔ
Definitions
1. Necessity is the mother of invention (European proverb).
Components
需要
xū yào
–
to need
是
shì
–
is
发明
fā míng
–
to invent
之
zhī
–
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])
母
mǔ
–
mother