mangeln means “lack” | MotiTan German Dictionary

More examples

Im Alltag mangelt es oft an Motivation.

In everyday life, there is often a lack of motivation.

An otherwise workable setup has an empty place where a necessary part should be.

fehlen: Be missing from a place or setting where it should be present.
brauchen: Have a need for something to serve a specific purpose.

an etwas nicht genug vorhanden sein; etwas fehlt.

The verb mangeln developed from the noun Mangel, meaning a lack or deficiency, with the verb-forming ending -n.

The usual pattern is es mangelt jemandem an etwas, with the person in the dative and the lacking thing after an.