Japanese symbol for “understaffed”

手不足

てぶそく

Romaji: tebusoku

shorthanded; understaffed

In Japanese, understaffed is 手不足, read てぶそく (tebusoku).

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

adj-na, n shorthanded; understaffed

Kanji and stroke order

手

hand

on: シュ、ズ
kun: て、て-、-て、た-

4 strokes · JLPT 4

不

negative, non-, bad

on: フ、ブ

4 strokes · JLPT 3

足

leg, foot, be sufficient

on: ソク
kun: あし、た.りる、た.る、た.す

7 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
相手	あいて aite	companion; partner; company
選手	せんしゅ senshu	player (of a sport); athlete; team member
手段	しゅだん shudan	means; way; method
手術	しゅじゅつ shujutsu	surgery; operation; procedure
大手	おおて oote	major company; big company
手紙	てがみ tegami	letter; note
不明	ふめい fumei	unclear; obscure; indistinct
不安	ふあん fuan	anxiety; uneasiness; worry
満足	まんぞく manzoku	satisfaction; contentment; gratification

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.