乏しい|とぼしいtoboshii[3]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. i-adjectivemeagre; meager; scarce; limited; destitute; hard up; lacking; scanty; poor
   この国くにには石油せきゆが乏とぼしい。↗

   Oil is scarce in this country.

• Synonym希少きしょうWrittenWritten style for scarcity and rarity, as in 「希少価値」 and 「希少種」. It stresses small numbers, while 「乏しい」 stresses lacking what one should have.
• Synonym貧しいまずしいNeutralNeutral word for poor or lacking, as in 「貧しい村」 and 「心が貧しい」. Slightly more written in tone than 「貧乏」.
• Synonym貧弱ひんじゃくWrittenWritten word for weak and unimpressive, as in 「貧弱な体格」. It stresses thin content or a frail appearance rather than shortage.
• Synonym寡少かしょうWrittenWritten word meaning exceedingly few; rare in modern Japanese — say 「少ない」 in everyday speech.
• Related不十分ふじゅうぶんNeutralNeutral word for something insufficient, as in 「準備が不十分」. It focuses on a degree falling short rather than scarcity itself.
• Related手薄てうすNeutralNeutral word for being shorthanded or thinly guarded, as in 「警備が手薄」. It points to insufficient staffing or preparations.
• Related不足ふそくNeutralNeutral noun for a shortage, as in 「人手不足」. Common in speech; being a noun, it works where the adjective 「乏しい」 cannot.
• Related貧困ひんこんWrittenWritten word for poverty or dearth, as in 「貧困家庭」 and 「発想の貧困」. It leans toward economic hardship or poverty of ideas.
• Related貧乏びんぼうNeutralNeutral word for being poor, as in 「貧乏な生活」. It is about money and living standards, and is the everyday choice in speech.
• Related鮮少せんしょうWrittenWritten word meaning very few; hardly used today — say 「ごく少ない」 in everyday speech.
• Antonym豊かゆたかNeutralNeutral antonym meaning abundant, as in 「経験豊か」; it stands opposite to 「乏しい」 in its sense of lacking.
• Antonym富むとむWrittenWritten antonym meaning to be rich in, as in 「変化に富む」; it stands opposite to 「乏しい」 in its sense of lacking.

Use 「乏しい」 when something one should have — experience, resources, expression — is lacking, as in 「経験に乏しい」. For a noun, say 「不足」; for rarity, 「希少」; for money troubles, 「貧乏」. The opposites are 「豊か」 and 「富む」.

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

1. 足たりない。少すくない。
2. 貧まずしい。