Definition

1. Adjective:

   • To be lacking / to be in need: Describes a state of not having enough of the basic necessities or comforts of life, such as food, money, or resources. It implies a condition of scarcity and want.
   • To be deficient / to be insufficient: Indicates that something is below the required or desired level, quantity, or standard.

2. Verb (to experience lack):

   • To lack / to be deprived of: To experience the state of not having something essential or important.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Gia đình họ sống trong cảnh thiếu thốn. (Their family lives in a state of want.)
  • Trẻ em vùng sâu vùng xa còn thiếu thốn về sách vở. (Children in remote areas are still lacking in books and school supplies.)

• Verb:

  • Anh ấy đã thiếu thốn tình cảm từ nhỏ. (He has been deprived of affection since childhood.)

Advanced Usage

• The word often carries an emotional weight, describing not just material poverty but also emotional or spiritual deprivation.
• It can be used in both concrete (material goods) and abstract (love, opportunity) contexts.
  • Cuộc sống thiếu thốn niềm vui. (A life lacking in joy.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thiếu (v/adj): to lack, to be missing, to be short of. This is the root word and is more general.
  • Tôi thiếu tiền. (I lack money.)
• Nghèo khó (adj): poor, impoverished. Emphasizes financial poverty more directly.
• Túng thiếu (adj): destitute, in dire straits. Suggests a more severe and pressing state of need.

Synonyms

• To be in want: to lack necessities.
• To be needy: requiring basic support.
• To be deficient: not having enough of something required.
• To be deprived: suffering from the denial of something essential.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Thiếu thốn đủ đường: to lack in every way; to be deprived of everything.
  • Sau chiến tranh, người dân thiếu thốn đủ đường. (After the war, the people lacked everything.)
• Chịu thiếu thốn: to endure hardship/lack; to put up with deprivation.
  • Bố mẹ chịu thiếu thốn để cho con ăn học. (Parents endure hardship so their children can get an education.)