Meaning

Primary

Scarce

Alternative

Meager

Word Type

い adjective

Explanation

This is a single kanji with an on the end, meaning you know it's probably an adjective. What's the adjective form of scarce? It's also scarce.

Reading

とぼしい
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you: When things are scarce, you have to boat (とぼ) all the way across the lake to find any resources or food, as your side of the lake is picked dry.

Context

Context Sentences

日本語能力だけじゃなく、対人能力も乏しいんです。

Not only are my Japanese abilities lacking, but my personal abilities are too.

Kanji Composition