Think of shortage like when you have a big box of crayons, but suddenly, everyone in your class wants to use the same blue crayon. There is only one blue crayon, but ten friends want to use it at the same time. This means there is a shortage of blue crayons because there aren’t enough for everybody who wants one.
Another way to understand shortage is like having a jar of cookies. If there are only five cookies in the jar but ten friends want a cookie, not everyone will get one. This makes the cookies special because there are fewer cookies than the number of people who want them.
Imagine playing a game with your friends, and you have only one ball to share. If more friends come to play and there is still just one ball, it becomes harder for everyone to have a turn. This is another kind of shortage because there are not enough balls for everyone to play happily at the same time.
So, a shortage is when there are not enough things for everyone who wants them, making it hard to share.