不ふ十じゅう分ぶん

ふ

じゅ

う

ぶ

ん

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

na-adjective, noun

insufficient; inadequate; imperfect

Describes a state where quantity, quality, or degree falls short of what is needed or expected. Used for resources, preparation, explanation, etc.

その説せつ明めいは不ふ十じゅう分ぶんだった。
The explanation was insufficient.
食しょく料りょうが

不ふ

十じゅう

分ぶん

で

、

全ぜん

員いん

に

行い

き

渡わた

ら

なかっ

た

。

The food supply was inadequate and didn't reach everyone.

Written forms

不ふ十じゅう分ぶん
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency in news and general use.
不ふ充じゅう分ぶん
Alternate kanji spelling using 充; also common but less frequent than 不十分.

Kanji

不negative, non-, bad
十ten
分part, minute of time, segment
充allot, fill

Similar words

不ふ足そく
不足 is a noun/suru-verb often used for shortage or lack of something concrete (e.g., 睡眠不足), while 不十分 is an adjectival noun emphasizing inadequacy in quality or degree.
不ふ完かん全ぜん
不完全 means 'incomplete' or 'imperfect' with a focus on missing parts or flaws, whereas 不十分 stresses insufficiency in amount or extent.

Etymology

Compound of 不 (negative prefix) + 十分 (sufficient, enough). The spelling 不充分 uses 充 (fill, supply) instead of 分 (part, portion), but both convey the same meaning of insufficiency.