- 微不足道 wēibùzúdào insignificanttoo small or unimportant to be worth mentioning; negligible; extremely tiny
- 不足为奇 bùzúwéiqí not surprising at allnothing to be surprised at; quite common or ordinary; not at all strange
- 美中不足 měizhōngbùzú a fly in the ointment(idiom) a small defect or blemish in something that is otherwise excellent or perfect
- 先天不足 xiāntiānbùzú congenital deficiencySuffering from an inborn weakness or nutritional deficiency during the embryonic stage; physically weak from birth
- 供血不足 gōngxuèbùzú ischemiainsufficient blood supply to a body part or organ
- 心有余而力不足 xīnyǒuyú'érlìbùzú the spirit is willing but the flesh is weakunable to do what one wants; to have the desire to do something but lack the strength or resources to carry it out
- 不足取 bùzúqǔ not worth takingNot worth adopting or following; not worth taking as an example or model.
- 不足挂齿 bùzúguàchǐ not worth mentioning(idiom) not worth talking about; used to express humility about one's own help or to show contempt for something trivial
- 死不足惜 sǐbùzúxī not to be regrettedeven death is not to be regretted; used to express a willingness to die for a noble cause or purpose
- 不足为虑 bùzúwéilǜ nothing to worry aboutto give no cause for anxiety; not worth worrying about
- 不足为外人道 bùzúwèiwàiréndào not worth mentioning to others(idiom) not worth telling outsiders; a secret that should be kept between those involved; this phrase originates from the story of the Peach Blossom Spring by Tao Yuanming
- 不足为怪 bùzúwéiguài not surprisingnot at all surprising; quite common; nothing to be wondered at
- 不足道 bùzúdào not worth mentioninginsignificant; inconsiderable; of no consequence; not worth talking about
- 贪心不足 tānxīnbùzú insatiably greedyinsatiable greed; greedy and never satisfied
- 人心不足蛇吞象 rénxīnbùzúshétūnxiàng insatiable greeda man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant; describes extreme greed or someone who is never satisfied with what they have
- 不足为道 bùzúwéidào not worth mentioningnot important or not significant enough to talk about
- 不足为凭 bùzúwéipíng cannot be taken as evidenceinsufficient to serve as proof or evidence; inadmissible as evidence
- 不足为训 bùzúwéixùn not to be followednot worthy of being taken as a model or example to be followed; not to be taken as authoritative
- 不足为据 bùzúwéijù insufficient evidencenot enough to be used as a basis or evidence; unreliable as proof
- 不足介意 bùzújièyì not worth worrying aboutnot worth a thought; not worth being concerned about; don't mention it
- 卑不足道 bēibùzúdào not worth mentioningextremely lowly in character or social status and not worth talking about
- 不足齿数 bùzúchǐshù not worth mentioningnot worth mentioning or considering; beneath notice
- 贫不足耻 pínbùzúchǐ poverty is no disgraceIt is no disgrace to be poor; poverty is not something one should be ashamed of.
- 不足之处 bùzúzhīchù shortcomingsdeficiencies; shortcomings; inadequate areas
- 不足月 bùzúyuè premature(of a birth or a child) born before the full term of pregnancy
- 不足轻重 bùzúqīngzhòng insignificantto be of little importance; to be trivial or count for little; not influential enough to affect the situation
- 人手不足 rénshǒubùzú short-handedto be short-handed; to lack sufficient manpower or help
- 先天不足,后天失调 xiāntiānbùzúhòutiānshītiáo to be inherently weak and poorly raisedTo be born with a weak constitution and suffer from poor health throughout life; used figuratively to describe a project or person that is problematic from the start and gets even worse over time.
- 卑卑不足道 bēibēibùzúdào not worth mentioningto be too petty or insignificant to mention; not worth mentioning at all
- 学然后知不足 xuéránhòuzhībùzú to learn is to know one's ignoranceThe more you learn, the less you feel you know; to discover that your knowledge is incomplete only through learning. This phrase is originally from the "Book of Rites" [[礼记|禮記|li3 ji4]].
- 就业不足 jiùyèbùzú underemploymentsituation where workers are employed for fewer hours than they desire or are overqualified for their current jobs
- 开发不足 kāifābùzú underexploitationunder-exploitation, such as of natural resources
- 心有余,力不足 xīnyǒuyúlìbùzú the spirit is willing but the flesh is weakthe will is there but the strength or resources are lacking; to want to do something but be unable to carry it out
- 成事不足,败事有余 chéngshìbùzúbàishìyǒuyú unable to help but able to spoilUnable to do anything right, and likely to ruin things further; describes someone who is more of a hindrance than a help.
- 显影不足 xiǎnyǐngbùzú to underdevelopto process photographic film or paper for insufficient time or at an inadequate temperature
- 智能不足 zhìnéngbùzú mental disabilitymental disability; intellectual impairment; refers to having an IQ significantly below average along with difficulties in learning and social adaptation.
- 比上不足,比下有余 bǐshàngbùzúbǐxiàyǒuyú middling(proverb) Neither the best nor the worst; to be in a middle position; can also be used to encourage someone to be content with their lot.
- 注意力不足过动症 zhùyìlìbùzúguòdòngzhèng ADHDattention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- 睡眠不足 shuìmiánbùzú lack of sleepinsufficient sleep; sleep deficit; sleep deficiency
- 营养不足 yíngyǎngbùzú malnutritionundernourishment; malnutrition; abiotrophy
- 貂不足,狗尾续 diāobùzúgǒuwěixù inadequate sable tail followed by dog tailto provide an inferior replacement or sequel when the original quality is high; literally meaning that when there are not enough sable tails to decorate hats, dog tails are used instead