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N3How you sound · Sep 28, 2026

How to say "supply and demand" in Japanese: 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう

需要じゅよう (juyou) means demand, 供給きょうきゅう (kyoukyuu) means supply. Together they form 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう (juyou to kyoukyuu) — literally "demand and supply," the reverse order from the English phrase "supply and demand." 需給じゅきゅうバランス (jukyuu baransu) is the balance between the two, and 品ひん不足ふそく (hinbusoku) is the shortage that shows up when demand outruns supply.

Say 供給きょうきゅうと需要じゅよう instead of 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう and nothing's grammatically wrong — but it sounds like a direct, slightly clunky translation from English rather than the set phrase Japanese speakers actually use.

The basics

需要じゅよう: demand

需要じゅよう (じゅよう, juyou) is demand — how much people want or are willing to buy something. It's the standard economics term, used in news, business, and everyday talk about prices.

このゲーム機きの需要じゅようはとても高たかい。 — Demand for this game console is very high. (a plain statement about wanting/buying interest) 需要じゅようが減へっている。 — Demand is decreasing. (a downward trend, common in business news)

需要じゅよう pairs naturally with 高たかい/低ひくい (high/low) or 増ふえる/減へる (increase/decrease) to describe how demand is trending. It's core business Japanese vocabulary — one of the first economic terms that comes up once conversations move past small talk.

供給きょうきゅう: supply

供給きょうきゅう (きょうきゅう, kyoukyuu) is supply — how much of something is available. It's 需要じゅよう's natural partner, and the two almost always show up together in economic discussion.

供給きょうきゅうが需要じゅように追おいつかない。 — Supply can't keep up with demand. (the classic shortage scenario) メーカーは供給きょうきゅうを増ふやす予定よていだ。 — The manufacturer plans to increase supply. (a company-side action)

供給きょうきゅう describes the availability side of the equation — it's what a company, a farm, or a market provides, as opposed to what people want. If you're talking about your job in Japanese in a manufacturing, retail, or sales role, 供給きょうきゅう comes up constantly on the operations side of the conversation.

需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう: supply and demand, in Japanese word order

需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう (じゅようときょうきゅう) is the fixed phrase for "supply and demand" as a single economic concept — note that Japanese puts demand first, the reverse of the English convention.

価格かかくは需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅうで決きまる。 — Prices are determined by supply and demand. (the textbook economic principle)

This word order isn't optional or stylistic — 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう is the phrase native speakers actually use; flipping it to match English word order would sound like a translation, not natural Japanese.

Beyond the basics

需給じゅきゅうバランス: the balance between the two

需給じゅきゅうバランス (じゅきゅうバランス, jukyuu baransu — 需給じゅきゅう is a contraction of 需要じゅよう and 供給きょうきゅう) describes the relationship or balance between demand and supply, used when discussing whether a market is in equilibrium or not.

需給じゅきゅうバランスが崩くずれている。 — The supply-demand balance is broken. (used when a market is notably out of balance, e.g., a shortage or glut)

需給じゅきゅうバランス is the go-to phrase in business and economic reporting for describing the state of the market, rather than either side individually.

品ひん不足ふそく: the shortage that results

品ひん不足ふそく (ひんぶそく, hinbusoku, literally "goods shortage") describes the concrete, visible result when demand outpaces supply — empty shelves, sold-out products, long waits.

マスクの品ひん不足ふそくが続つづいた。 — The mask shortage continued. (a real, visible shortage, not an abstract economic term)

品ひん不足ふそく is what ordinary people talk about; 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう and 需給じゅきゅうバランス are the words behind the scenes explaining why the 品ひん不足ふそく happened.

転売てんばい and プレミア価格かかく: what happens when scarcity meets demand

When 品ひん不足ふそく hits a popular item, 転売てんばい (てんばい, "resale," often implying scalping) and プレミア価格かかく (premium price, a marked-up resale price) usually follow — this is the everyday, consumer-facing version of the same supply-and-demand principle taught in economics class, and it comes up constantly around limited anime merchandise, concert tickets, and collectibles.

限定げんていフィギュアが転売てんばいされてプレミア価格かかくになっている。 — The limited-edition figure is being resold at a premium price. (scarcity driving up price outside the official market)

This is exactly why merch and ticket drops for popular anime and idol groups sell out instantly and then reappear online at multiples of the original price — 需要じゅよう (demand from fans) vastly exceeds 供給きょうきゅう (the limited production run), and 転売てんばい fills the gap the manufacturer didn't. A shop marks a sold-out item 売り切うりきれ, while ads and news prefer 完売かんばい, as in コンサートは即日そくじつ完売かんばいした ("the concert sold out the same day"), and 満員まんいん vs 売り切うりきれ explains the promotional tone of 完売かんばい.

How do you say "scalper" in Japanese?

The person who does it is a 転売てんばいヤー (てんばいやー), a mix of 転売てんばい and the English "-er." It is always negative. Fans use it for people who buy up limited cards, figures or tickets only to resell them, and you will see 転売てんばいヤー対策たいさく, "anti-scalper measures," on official store pages.

転売てんばいヤーのせいで、定価ていかで買かえなかった。 — Because of scalpers, I couldn't buy it at the regular price. (a very common complaint)

Common mistakes

  • Saying 供給きょうきゅうと需要じゅよう to match English word order. It's understandable but not what native speakers say — 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう is the fixed order; reversing it sounds like a literal translation.
  • Using 品ひん不足ふそく for a purely economic/abstract discussion. 品ひん不足ふそく is about the visible, concrete shortage — for an abstract discussion of market forces without a specific shortage in mind, 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう or 需給じゅきゅうバランス fit better.
  • Assuming 転売てんばい is always illegal. Reselling itself often isn't illegal in Japan (laws vary by category, e.g., ticket resale has specific restrictions), but it's widely viewed negatively when it blocks genuine fans/buyers from getting items at the original price.
  • Treating 需要じゅよう and 供給きょうきゅう as interchangeable. They're opposite sides of the same relationship — mixing them up (saying 供給きょうきゅうが高たかい when you mean people want something a lot) states the wrong half of the equation.

Which word should you use?

Word Reading What it means
需要じゅよう じゅよう Demand
供給きょうきゅう きょうきゅう Supply
需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう じゅようときょうきゅう Supply and demand (as a concept)
需給じゅきゅうバランス じゅきゅうバランス The supply-demand balance
品ひん不足ふそく ひんぶそく A shortage of goods
転売てんばい てんばい Resale (often scalping)

FAQ

Is 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう always in that fixed order, or can it flip? It's overwhelmingly used in that order in Japanese; while 供給きょうきゅうと需要じゅよう isn't ungrammatical, it reads as unnatural or translated.

What's the opposite of 品ひん不足ふそく — is there a word for oversupply? 供給過剰きょうきゅうかじょう (きょうきゅうかじょう, "excess supply") is the standard term for oversupply, the mirror image of 品ひん不足ふそく.

Does 需要じゅよう only apply to goods, or can it apply to services and jobs too? It applies broadly — 人材じんざいの需要じゅよう ("demand for talent/workers") and サービスへの需要じゅよう ("demand for a service") are both completely normal uses.

Is プレミア価格かかく the same word as English "premium" for quality? No — プレミア価格かかく here specifically means a scarcity-driven markup (resale above retail), not a "premium" product tier; context makes clear which sense is meant.

How would you say "prices go up when supply is limited"? 供給きょうきゅうが限かぎられていると価格かかくが上あがる is the natural way to say it — 限かぎられている ("is limited") pairs naturally with 供給きょうきゅう in this context.

Is 需給じゅきゅうバランス used outside of formal business talk? It leans business/news register, but it's common enough in everyday conversation about, say, housing prices or concert ticket availability that it's worth knowing even outside formal contexts.

Practice

1. "Demand for this game console is very high."

Show answer

このゲーム機きの需要じゅようはとても高たかい。 — 需要じゅよう pairs naturally with 高たかい to describe strong demand.

2. "Supply can't keep up with demand."

Show answer

供給きょうきゅうが需要じゅように追おいつかない。 — the classic shortage phrase, with 供給きょうきゅう as the subject falling behind.

3. "Prices are determined by supply and demand." (the textbook principle)

Show answer

価格かかくは需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅうで決きまる。 — 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう is the fixed order; demand comes first in Japanese.

4. "The supply-demand balance is broken."

Show answer

需給じゅきゅうバランスが崩くずれている。 — 需給じゅきゅうバランス describes the state of the market, not either side alone.

5. "The mask shortage continued." (a real, visible shortage)

Show answer

マスクの品ひん不足ふそくが続つづいた。 — 品ひん不足ふそく is the concrete, everyday word for a shortage, not an abstract economic term.

6. Fix this: 供給きょうきゅうと需要じゅようで価格かかくが決きまる。 (should use the natural Japanese word order)

Show answer

需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅうで価格かかくが決きまる。 — 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう is the fixed order native speakers use; reversing it sounds translated.

7. "The limited-edition figure is being resold at a premium price."

Show answer

限定げんていフィギュアが転売てんばいされてプレミア価格かかくになっている。 — 転売てんばい and プレミア価格かかく name exactly what happens when scarcity meets fan demand.

8. "Demand for talent/workers is rising." (需要じゅよう applied to jobs, not just goods)

Show answer

人材じんざいの需要じゅようが高たかまっている。 — 需要じゅよう applies broadly, including to labor and services, not only physical goods.

Saying 供給きょうきゅうと需要じゅよう in the English word order is a small habit to unlearn, so in a trial lesson, explain a shortage or a sold-out item with 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう and 品ひん不足ふそく.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

需要	じゅよう — demand
供給	きょうきゅう — supply
需要と供給	じゅようときょうきゅう — supply and demand (as a concept)
需給バランス	じゅきゅうバランス — the supply-demand balance
品不足	ひんぶそく — a shortage of goods
供給過剰	きょうきゅうかじょう — oversupply
転売	てんばい — resale (often scalping)
転売ヤー	てんばいやー — scalper
プレミア価格	プレミアかかく — a scarcity-driven markup price
価格	かかく — price
人材	じんざい — talent, human resources

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, and 需要じゅようと供給きょうきゅう is a word order students often flip by instinct from English — a small fix that instantly sounds more natural.

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Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

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