ຄຳສັບສອງຄຳນີ້, “lack” ແລະ “shortage”, ມັກຈະສັບສົນກັນ ສຳລັບຄົນຮຽນພາສາອັງກິດ. “Lack” ໝາຍເຖິງການບໍ່ມີຫຍັງຢ່າງສົມບູນ ຫຼື ບໍ່ພຽງພໍຕາມຄວາມຕ້ອງການ, ສ່ວນ “shortage” ໝາຍເຖິງສະຖານະການທີ່ມີຢ່າງບໍ່ພຽງພໍ ຫຼື ບໍ່ພໍໃຊ້ຕາມຄວາມຕ້ອງການ ໂດຍສະເພາະແມ່ນສິ່ງຂອງທີ່ມີຈຳນວນຈຳກັດ. ສັງເກດເຫັນວ່າ “shortage” ມັກໃຊ້ກັບສິ່ງຂອງທີ່ສາມາດວັດແທກໄດ້ ເຊັ່ນ: ເງິນ, ອາຫານ, ນ້ຳມັນ.

ຕົວຢ່າງ:

• Lack: He lacks confidence. (ລາວຂາດຄວາມໝັ້ນໃຈ.) This sentence implies a complete absence of confidence. The sentence doesn't suggest there's a small amount of confidence; rather, there's none at all.

• Shortage: There is a shortage of water in the drought-stricken area. (ມີການຂາດແຄນນ້ຳຢູ່ໃນພື້ນທີ່ທີ່ໄດ້ຮັບຜົນກະທົບຈາກການແຫ້ງແລ້ງ.) This sentence implies there isn't enough water to meet the needs of the area. There might be some water, but not enough.

• Lack: The project lacks funding. (ໂຄງການນີ້ຂາດທຶນ.) This implies that there is no funding at all for the project.

• Shortage: There's a shortage of skilled workers in the tech industry. (ມີການຂາດແຄນແຮງງານຊ່າງຊ່ານໃນອຸດສາຫະກຳເທັກໂນໂລຢີ.) This implies there aren't enough skilled workers to meet the demand.

• Lack: She lacks the necessary skills for the job. (ນາງຂາດທັກສະທີ່ຈຳເປັນສຳລັບວຽກນີ້.) This implies a complete absence of the skills needed.

• Shortage: There's a shortage of affordable housing in the city. (ມີການຂາດແຄນທີ່ຢູ່ອາໄສທີ່ມີລາຄາບໍ່ແພງໃນເມືອງ.) This indicates that there aren't enough affordable houses to meet the demand.

Happy learning!