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How to say 'Scarce' in Japanese | 乏しい

Wondering how to say 'Scarce' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Scarce is 'Toboshii', written as 乏しい in Japanese.'Scarce' in hiragana is とぼしい.

    Meaning

    Scarce

    Reading

    とぼしい

    toboshii

    Kanji

    Scanty, Scarce

    Explanation

    The Japanese adjective '乏しい (とぼしい)' means 'scarce' or 'lacking'. It is used to describe a situation where something is in short supply or insufficient. This can apply to physical resources, abstract qualities, or even skills. For example: The region has scarce water resources「その地域は水が乏しい」(そのちいきはみずがとぼしい). His knowledge of history is lacking「彼の歴史の知識は乏しい」(かれのれきしのちしきはとぼしい). The word often carries a nuance of insufficiency or deficiency, and it is commonly used in both formal and informal contexts.

    Part Of Speech

    adjective

    Kanji JLPT

    N1

    Kanji Grade

    8

    Frequency

    6204

    Composition

    kanji-hiragana

    Handwriting

This word is an i-adjective. To learn how it transforms in different tenses and forms, explore all its conjugations.

Kanji in the Word 乏しい

This word contains 1 kanji character:

  • kanji

    Meaning

    Scanty, Scarce

Hiragana in the Word 乏しい

This word contains 2 Hiragana characters :

  • hiragana

    Reading

    Shi
  • hiragana

    Reading

    I

Words Related to 乏しい Through the Kanji

These 2 Words contain the Kanji 乏 as well.

  • word

    貧乏

    Meaning

    Poor

  • word

    貧乏人

    Meaning

    Poor

Learn the Word 乏しい

Let's make sure you fully understand this word.

What does 'Toboshii' (乏しい) mean?

'Toboshii' means 'Scarce' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.