Word
不足
Meaning in Englishinsufficiency, shortage
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
Related sentences
Related sentences
There are no published items in this section yet.
Word context
What it means
What does 不足 mean? It designates a state in which something is not enough to meet needs or expectations; used to describe shortages of resources, time, capacity, or supply in daily life and formal contexts.
Main meanings
- insufficiency or shortage of resources, time, money, or supplies
- deficiency in capacity, skills, or capabilities within a system or organization
- in nutrition or medicine, a deficiency of a nutrient or vitamin
How to use it
Used as a noun in both formal and everyday speech to indicate a shortfall; common in business, economics, education, and government contexts; often appears in compounds such as 不足する, 不足分, 不足感, and in phrases describing needs not being met.
Variants and close terms
- 欠乏 (kettou): deficiency
- 充足 (juusoku): sufficiency
- 不十分 (fujūbun): insufficient
- 不足感 (fusokukan): sense of insufficiency
Composition
- 不: negation or 'not'
- 足: foot or 'enough'; here contributes the sense of sufficiency or lack
- Overall: together they form a compound meaning 'not enough' or 'shortage'
Word class
Noun (名詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N1
不良
furyou
badness, delinquent, failure
N1
補足
hosoku
supplement, complement
N1
発足
hossoku
starting, inauguration
N1
物足りない
monotarinai
unsatisfied, unsatisfactory
N2
～足
～soku
counter for shoes
N2
足跡
ashiato
footprint
N2
足元
ashimoto
at one's feet
N2
遠足
ensoku
trip, hike, picnic
N2
足る
taru
to be sufficient, to be enough
Kanji