物足りない

• 読み: ものたりない
• ローマ字: monotarinai
• 漢字の分解: 物 (butsu/mono) — thing; 足 (soku/ta) — sufficient, enough
• 発音: /mo̞.no̞.ta.ɾi.na.i/

意味

Unsatisfying; inadequate; not enough; lacking something. Describes the feeling that something falls short of expectation or leaves one wanting more.

An i-adjective formed from 物 (mono — thing, something) + 足りない (tarinai — insufficient, not enough). 物足りない captures a gentle dissatisfaction — not outright bad, but not quite hitting the mark. A film that was enjoyable but somehow 物足りない, a meal that was fine but left one wanting more flavour, or a job that pays well but feels 物足りない creatively. The nuance is of a gap between expectation and reality.

例文

1. 映画自体は面白かったが、結末が少し物足りない気がした。
2. 一人暮らしに慣れてきたものの、どこか物足りなさを感じる日もある。
3. 仕事の内容は申し分ないが、人との関わりが少なくて物足りない。

使い方ガイド

場面: emotions, evaluation, entertainment, relationships, work

トーン: mildly dissatisfied, reflective

起源と歴史

Compound of 物 (mono — thing, something abstract) + 足りない (tarinai — insufficient, falling short). Literally 'something is not enough', capturing the sense of an undefined lack.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: General