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人手不足 (ひとでぶそく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
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足そく
に
直ちょく
面めん
し
て
いる
。
The construction industry is facing a serious labor shortage.
Due to a shortage of workers, we had no choice but to shorten business hours.
Kanji 足 leg, foot, be sufficient Related words 人手不足 is a formal noun meaning 'labor shortage', often used in business or economic contexts, while 手が足りない is a casual spoken expression for the same situation.
人手不足 is the common modern term for a labor shortage, while 無人 (read ぶにん/むにん) is a rare, old-fashioned word for the same idea.
人手不足 spells out 'labor shortage' explicitly, whereas 手薄 is a shorter, slightly softer way to say a place or team is shorthanded.
Etymology Compound of 人手 (ひとで, 'workers, hands') and 不足 (ふそく, 'shortage, insufficiency').
猫ねこ の 手て も 借か りたい
N1
人手不足 is a neutral noun meaning 'labor shortage,' whereas 猫の手も借りたい is a colorful figurative expression conveying the same idea of desperate understaffing.
