欠乏・闕乏|けつぼうketsubou[0]heiban (flat)
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Which spelling to use
欠乏欠乏 is the most common form and the recommended choice for beginners; use it when you need to write this word.
闕乏闕乏 is a less common kanji-only variant and is rarely used; learners will seldom need to write it.
Definitions
- noun, suru verb, intransitive verbdeficiency; insufficiency; shortage; lack; want; dearth; scarcity
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 欠乏する（けつぼうする） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 欠乏します（けつぼうします） |
| Negative (nai) | 欠乏しない（けつぼうしない） |
| polite (masen) | 欠乏しません（けつぼうしません） |
| classical zu / nu | 欠乏せず・欠乏せぬ（けつぼうせず・けつぼうせぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 欠乏した（けつぼうした） |
| polite (mashita) | 欠乏しました（けつぼうしました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 欠乏しなかった（けつぼうしなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 欠乏しませんでした（けつぼうしませんでした） |
| Te form | 欠乏して（けつぼうして） |
| Potential | 欠乏できる（けつぼうできる） |
| Passive | 欠乏される（けつぼうされる） |
| Causative | 欠乏させる（けつぼうさせる） |
| Causative passive | 欠乏させられる（けつぼうさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 欠乏すれば（けつぼうすれば） |
| tara | 欠乏したら（けつぼうしたら） |
| Volitional | 欠乏しよう（けつぼうしよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 欠乏しましょう（けつぼうしましょう） |
| Imperative | 欠乏しろ（けつぼうしろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym不足ふそくNeutralThe everyday, most common word for not having enough. 「欠乏」 is narrower, stressing that something essential is lacking.
- Synonym欠如けつじょWrittenIn written or formal prose, the absence of a quality, as in 「責任感の欠如」. 「欠乏」 is about essential things running short.
- Synonym払底ふっていWrittenWritten/formal word for supplies running dry or being depleted. 「欠乏」 describes the state of lacking itself.
- Related不十分ふじゅうぶんNeutralMeans not sufficient or inadequate, focusing on degree. 「欠乏」 stresses a lack of something essential.
- Related不全ふぜんWrittenWritten/formal term for impaired or incomplete function, as in 「心不全」. 「欠乏」 is about essential things being insufficient.
- Related不備ふびWrittenWritten/formal word for incomplete procedures or equipment, with oversights. 「欠乏」 is about lacking essential things.
- Related不完全ふかんぜんWrittenWritten/formal word meaning incomplete or defective. 「欠乏」 focuses on quantity being insufficient.
- Related手薄てうすNeutralNeutral word for being shorthanded or thinly defended. 「欠乏」 stresses a lack of necessities.
- Related品薄しなうすNeutralGoods in short supply, demand exceeding stock. 「欠乏」 refers to shortages of necessities in general.
- Related欠くかくWrittenA written/formal verb meaning to lack, as in 「常識を欠く」. 「欠乏」 is a noun.
- Related欠けるかけるNeutralIntransitive verb for chipping or being missing or lacking. 「欠乏」 stresses essential things being insufficient.
- Related欠落けつらくWrittenWritten/formal word for something missing or omitted, e.g. a gap in memory. 「欠乏」 stresses not having enough to use.
- Antonym豊富ほうふNeutralAntonym: abundant, plentiful — the direct opposite of 「欠乏」.
- Antonym充足じゅうそくWrittenWritten/formal antonym: sufficiency, being fully supplied — the opposite of 「欠乏」.
Use 「欠乏」 when something essential — nutrients, sleep, love — is in short supply, as in 「ビタミン欠乏症」「睡眠の欠乏」. For everyday shortages say 「不足」; for a missing quality 「欠如」; for goods out of stock 「品薄」; for abundance 「豊富」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
