모자라다 VS 부족하다
these are synonyms
They are like inadequate vs insufficient. They are similar and included in eachothers definitions.
From what ive seen id say:
모자라다 insufficient
(because I’ve seen it dealing with quantity which is what insufficient is)
부족하다 inadequate
(whereas this is both quantity and
quality)
EXAMPLE
We dont say “an insufficient person”, we say “an inadequate person” which is 부족한 사람
Where as 좀 모자란 사람 is “mentally slow” referring to an insufficient (low) IQ
Another example would be to lack a level of understanding
저는 이해력이 부족해요 my level of understanding is inadequate (from what I can see, you wouldn’t use 모자라다. You’re referring to the quality of your understanding, not the quantity)
.
.
An idiom:
To not have enough hands/ To be short handed/understaffed
손이 모자라다/부족하다
.
.
모자르다
alot of natives incorrectly use 모자르다 when its supposed to be 모자라다. if you just search the word on google or naver youll get articles saying 모자라다 is the correct word.
~ Shelbi
Satyanghae Korean 