乏しい

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 乏しい is read as とぼしい and is an い-adjective meaning insufficient, scarce, or weak in needed amount, content, or support.
• Basic usage: Scarce resources appear in 水資源に乏しい, while weak support appears in 根拠に乏しい.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Marking what is lacking
  • The deficient resource or quality is marked with the particle, and it can be material or abstract.
• Difference from 少ない
  • Compared with simply being few in number, this word evaluates something as inadequate for the need or poor in substance.