xū yào shì fā míng zhī mǔ
Necessity is the mother of invention (European proverb).
需
xū
to require
要
yào
to want; to need; to ask for
是
shì
to be (followed by substantives only)
发
fā
to send out
明
míng
bright
之
zhī
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])
母
mǔ
mother
