1.
food shortage; lack of food
A situation in which the available supply of food is insufficient to meet needs. Used in discussions of famine, wartime rationing, refugee situations, disaster relief, and global food security.
深刻な食糧不足。
A serious food shortage.
戦争によって食糧不足が生じた。
A food shortage was caused by the war.
干ばつの影響で、一部の地域は食糧不足に陥っている。
Due to the effects of drought, some regions have fallen into food shortages.
国際機関は食糧不足に苦しむ人々に支援物資を届けた。
International organizations delivered aid supplies to people suffering from food shortages.
Compound of 食糧 ('food supplies; provisions') and 不足 ('shortage; insufficiency'). Distinguished from 食料, which refers to food generally; 食糧 specifically evokes staple food supplies for a group or population.
USAGE:
Primarily used in news, policy, and humanitarian contexts. Rarely used for an individual's daily situation — for 'I ran out of food at home,' speakers say 食べ物がない or 食料が足りない. For systemic shortages affecting many people, 食糧不足 is the standard term.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 深刻な食糧不足: serious food shortage
- 食糧不足に陥る: to fall into a food shortage
- 食糧不足に直面する: to face a food shortage
- 食糧不足を解消する: to resolve a food shortage
- 慢性的な食糧不足: chronic food shortage
- 世界的な食糧不足: global food shortage
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 食料不足: same pronunciation, slightly broader — 'food shortage' using 食料 (food in general)
- 飢饉: famine — a more severe, sustained shortage, often with deaths
- 飢え: hunger; starvation — focuses on the suffering of individuals
- 欠乏: deficiency; lack — a more general and formal word (栄養欠乏 = 'nutrient deficiency')