足りる · ichidan verb
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 足りる | 足りない |
| Polite | 足ります | 足りません |
| Past polite | 足りました | 足りませんでした |
| Past | 足りた | 足りなかった |
| Te-form | 足りて | 足りないで |
| Desire | 足りたい | 足りたくない |
| Potential | 足りられるalso 足りれる | 足りられないalso 足りれない |
| Passive | 足りられる | 足りられない |
| Causative | 足りさせる | 足りさせない |
| Causative passive | 足りさせられる | 足りさせられない |
| Volitional | 足りよう | |
| Polite volitional | 足りましょう | |
| Imperative | 足りろ | 足りるな |
| Conditional | 足りれば | 足りなければ |
| Tara conditional | 足りたら | 足りなかったら |
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
General intransitive verb for quantity, degree, or quality meeting a requirement. Often used with に or で to mark what is sufficient.
Do you think this amount will be enough?
説明が足りなくて、よくわからなかった。
The explanation wasn't sufficient, so I didn't really understand.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
be worth doing; deserve
Used in the pattern 〜に足りる after a verb, meaning something is worth doing or deserves a certain action. Often appears in negative or formal contexts.
See also: 取るに足りない
彼の意見は信頼するに足りる。
His opinion is worthy of trust.
その映画は見るに足りない。
That movie is not worth watching.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
serve the purpose; do the job
Used when something fulfills a role or function adequately, often in practical contexts. Similar to sense 1 but emphasizes functional adequacy rather than just quantity.
この道具で十分足りる。
This tool will do the job just fine.
今の説明では足りないので、もう少し詳しく話してください。
The current explanation doesn't serve the purpose, so please explain in a bit more detail.
I don't have enough money this month.
His actions were worthy of trust.
This tool should do the job.
There wasn't enough time to prepare.
足りる means a quantity or amount is sufficient, while 間に合う more broadly means something serves its purpose or arrives in time.
足りる describes whether an amount is sufficient (often negated as 足りない), while 欠ける directly expresses that a quality or element is lacking.
欠ける means something is missing or lacking, the opposite of 足りる meaning something is sufficient.
足りる means an amount is sufficient, the opposite of 余る, which means there is more than enough.