How to say "sparse" in Japanese

• まばらCommon
  na-adjectiveThe default word for sparse in the sense of scattered with gaps: people, trees, or hair spread thinly so that empty spaces show. It describes physical distribution, not weakness or meagreness.
  ９月がつの海うみは、人ひとがまばらだね。↗

  In September, there are just a few people here and there on the beach.
• 希薄きはくCommon
  na-adjective, nounCovers sparse only for population: a region whose inhabitants are few and far between. Its broader sense is low density or concentration — thin air, weak or dilute liquids — rather than things scattered in space.
  高たかく登のぼるにつれて、空気くうきは希薄きはくになる。↗

  As you go up higher, the air becomes thinner.
• 貧相ひんそうCommon
  na-adjective, nounNot the general word for sparse: it describes a meagre, thin-looking appearance — a scrawny figure, a sparse meal. Use it only when the sparseness itself looks poor or inadequate.

Use 「まばら」 for things scattered with gaps, 希薄 for low density such as a sparse population (also thin air or weak liquids), and 貧相 only for a meagre, thin-looking appearance such as a sparse meal.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• まばらsparse
• 希薄きはくthin (air)
• 疎そsparse
• ぱらぱらsparse
• 貧相ひんそうscrawny (e.g. figure)
• 寥々りょうりょうfew
• 薄いうすいsparse