不ふ足そく

ふ

そ

く

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

不足する · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	不ふ足そくする	不ふ足そくしない
Polite	不ふ足そくします	不ふ足そくしません
Past polite	不ふ足そくしました	不ふ足そくしませんでした
Past	不ふ足そくした	不ふ足そくしなかった
Te-form	不ふ足そくして	不ふ足そくしないで
Desire	不ふ足そくしたい	不ふ足そくしたくない
Potential	不ふ足そくできる	不ふ足そくできない
Passive	不ふ足そくされる	不ふ足そくされない
Causative	不ふ足そくさせる	不ふ足そくさせない
Causative passive	不ふ足そくさせられる	不ふ足そくさせられない
Volitional	不ふ足そくしよう
Polite volitional	不ふ足そくしましょう
Imperative	不ふ足そくしろ	不ふ足そくするな
Conditional	不ふ足そくすれば	不ふ足そくしなければ
Tara conditional	不ふ足そくしたら	不ふ足そくしなかったら

Meanings

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb, na-adjective

shortage; lack; insufficiency

Refers to a quantitative or qualitative lack of something needed. Used as a noun, する verb, or な-adjective.

水みずの不ふ足そくが深しん刻こくだ。
The water shortage is serious.
睡すい眠みんが不ふ足そくしている。
I'm lacking sleep.
この地ち域いきは医い者しゃが不ふ足そくだ。
This area has a shortage of doctors.

noun, na-adjective

dissatisfaction; discontent; complaint

Expresses a feeling that something is not enough or not satisfactory. Often used in set phrases like 不足を言う or 不足に思う.

彼かれは給きゅう料りょうに不ふ足そくを言いっている。
He is complaining about his salary.
今いまの生せい活かつに何なんの不ふ足そくもない。
I have no complaints about my current life.

See all 639 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が不ふ足そくするthere is a shortage of something
工こう事じ現げん場ばでは資し金きんが不ふ足そくしている。
There is a shortage of funds at the construction site.
〈物もの〉不ふ足そくに陥おちいるto fall into a shortage of something
その会かい社しゃは深しん刻こくな人ひと手で不ぶ足そくに陥おちいっている。
That company has fallen into a serious labor shortage.
〈物もの〉が不ふ足そくがちだsomething tends to run short
冬ふゆになるとビタミンが不ふ足そくがちになる。
In winter, vitamins tend to run short.
〈事こと〉に不ふ足そくを感かんじるto feel dissatisfied with something
今いまの生せい活かつに特とくに不ふ足そくを感かんじてはいない。
I don't particularly feel any dissatisfaction with my current life.

Expressions

不ふ足そくを補おぎなうmake up a shortfall; cover a shortage; fill a gap
不ふ足そくを言いうcomplain; express dissatisfaction
相あい手てにとって不ふ足そくはないgood match for an opponent; worthy rival

Kanji

不negative, non-, bad
足leg, foot, be sufficient

Related words· 13

不ふ満まんN3sense 2
不満 expresses a stronger, more direct dissatisfaction, while 不足 (sense 2) suggests a milder feeling that something is not quite enough.
欠けつ乏ぼうN1sense 1
欠乏 is a formal, often technical term for a severe deficiency, while 不足 (sense 1) is the general everyday word for a shortage.
欠けつ如じょN1sense 1
欠如 is a formal word for the total absence of a needed quality, while 不足 (sense 1) covers any degree of insufficiency, from mild to severe.
不ふ十じゅう分ぶんN1
不足 is a noun/suru-verb for a concrete shortage or lack (e.g. 睡眠不足), while 不十分 is an adjectival noun describing an insufficient quality or degree.

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不ふ備びN1
不足 is the everyday word for a shortage or insufficiency, while 不備 specifically points to something incomplete or improperly prepared, often in formal documents or systems.
欠けっ損そん
不足 is a general shortage or insufficiency, while 欠損 implies a measurable deficit or physical loss, often with damage.
欠けつ
不足 is the common, everyday word for a shortage or insufficiency, while 欠 is a more formal, often compound-forming term for the same idea.
乏とぼしいN2
不足 is a noun/suru-verb stating an objective shortage, while 乏しい is an adjective describing the qualitative state of being scarce or lacking.
品しな薄うす
不足 is a general word for insufficiency that can apply to abstract things like sleep or money, while 品薄 refers specifically to a shortage of goods on the market.
不ふ足そく分ぶんN2
不足 describes the general state of being insufficient, while 不足分 names the specific amount that is missing.
手て薄うす
不足 is the general word for a shortage of anything, while 手薄 specifically suggests too few people or too little on hand to handle a task properly.
飢き饉きんN2
不足 is a general word for any shortage or insufficiency, while 飢饉 implies a severe, often life-threatening lack, especially of food.
枯こ渇かつ
不足 means a shortage where some amount still remains, while 枯渇 means the supply has run out entirely.

Opposites· 12

十じゅう分ぶんN4sense 1
十分 means enough or sufficient, the direct opposite of 不足 (sense 1) meaning a shortage.
満まん足ぞくN3sense 2
満足 means satisfaction, the opposite feeling to 不足 (sense 2) which expresses dissatisfaction that something is lacking.
余あまりN5
不足 means a shortage or insufficiency, the opposite of 余り's sense of a surplus or leftover amount.

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超ちょう過かN2
不足 means falling short of a required amount, the direct opposite of 超過, which means going over it.
氾はん濫らんN2
不足 means a shortage or insufficiency, the opposite of the figurative 氾濫 sense of things being in overwhelming oversupply.
余よ剰じょう
不足 means a shortage or insufficiency, the direct opposite of 余剰, which means an excess or surplus.
余よ分ぶんN3
不足 means a shortage or lack of something, the opposite of 余分, which means an excess or surplus.
過か剰じょうN2
不足 means a shortage or lack, the direct opposite of 過剰's meaning of excess.
過すぎN1
不足 means 'not enough', the opposite extreme from 過ぎ's sense of 'too much'.
充じゅう足そく
不足 means a shortfall or lack, the direct opposite of 充足's sense of a need being fully met.
余よ裕ゆうN3
余裕 means having extra to spare, while 不足 means falling short or lacking what is needed.
余あまるN3
不足する means to be lacking or insufficient, the opposite of 余る, which means to be left over in excess.

Don't confuse with

不ふ測そく
不測 is pronounced identically to 不足 but means unforeseen or unexpected, not a shortage.
補ほ足そくN1
補足 looks and sounds similar to 不足 but means to supplement or add extra information, the opposite idea of a lack.

Word family· 42

寝ね不ぶ足そくN3
lack of sleep; insufficient sleep
力ちから不ぶ足そく
lack of ability; inadequacy; out of one's depth
水みず不ぶ足そく
water shortage; shortage of water supply
手て不ぶ足そく
shorthanded; understaffed
過か不ふ足そく
excess or deficiency; too much or too little

Show 11 more

役やく不ぶ足そく
dissatisfied with one's assigned role; feeling the role is beneath one · not up to the task; out of one's depth
不ふ足そく分ぶんN2
shortage; deficit; amount outstanding
睡すい眠みん不ぶ足そくN3
lack of sleep; sleep deprivation
不ふ足そく勝がち
needy circumstances; often short of money
品しな不ぶ足そく
shortage of goods; scarcity of stock
予よ算さん不ぶ足そく
budget shortfall; budget deficit; insufficient budget
人じん員いん不ぶ足そく
staff shortage; personnel shortage
人ひと手で不ぶ足そく
labor shortage; shortage of workers
人じん材ざい不ぶ足そく
shortage of talented people; shortfall in human resources
付つけ不ぶ足そく
undercharge; underbilling
供きょう給きゅう不ぶ足そく
supply shortage; short supply

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Etymology

Compound of 不 (fu, 'not') and 足 (soku, 'enough, sufficient'). The meaning 'dissatisfaction' developed from the idea of something being insufficient.