1.
to be short-handed; to lack enough people to do the work
For there not to be enough people available for the work at hand. Literally 'hands are insufficient' — 手 stands for working hands, as in English 'we're short-handed.'
Orders pick up at the end of the year, so we inevitably end up short-handed.
Structure: 手 (hand, worker) + が + 足りない (to be insufficient).
Common patterns
- 手が足りない: we're short-handed
- 手が足りなくなる: to end up short-handed
- 人手が足りない: to be short of staff (the same idea with the noun 人手; slightly more formal, common in news writing)
Similar words
- 人手不足: labor shortage — the noun used for the long-term, industry-wide problem
- 猫の手も借りたい: so busy one would borrow a cat's paws — a vivid idiom for the same situation
Usage
Use it for a temporary shortfall on a particular day or job; a chronic shortage is 人手不足.
Related Words
Compare:
人手不足 (labor shortage)