Japanese symbol for “dearth”
欠乏
けつぼう
Romaji: ketsubou
deficiency; insufficiency; shortage; lack
In Japanese, dearth is 欠乏, read けつぼう (ketsubou).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n, vi, vs deficiency; insufficiency; shortage; lack; want; dearth
Written forms: 欠乏、闕乏、缺乏. Readings: けつぼう.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “dearth”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 払底 | ふってい futtei | shortage; scarcity; dearth |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 欠陥 | けっかん kekkan | defect; fault; flaw |
| 不可欠 | ふかけつ fukaketsu | indispensable; essential |
| 欠点 | けってん ketten | fault; defect; flaw |
| 欠席 | けっせき kesseki | absence; non-attendance |
| 欠如 | けつじょ ketsujo | lack; absence; shortage |
| 補欠 | ほけつ hoketsu | filling a vacancy; supplementation |
| 貧乏 | びんぼう binbou | poverty-stricken; destitute; poor |
| 乏しい | とぼしい toboshii | meagre; meager; scarce |
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.