臭い

• Reading: くさい
• Romaji: kusai
• Kanji breakdown: 臭 (shuu/kusa) — stink, smell, smelly
• Pronunciation: /kɯ.sa.i/

Meaning

Stinky; smelly; bad-smelling. Describes an unpleasant odour.

An i-adjective that directly describes bad smells. Conjugates regularly: 臭くない (not smelly), 臭かった (was smelly). Can also be used figuratively to mean 'suspicious' or 'fishy' — あの話は臭い (That story seems fishy). As a suffix, -くさい attaches to nouns to mean 'smelling of' or '-ish': 汗臭い (sweaty-smelling).

Examples

1. この牛乳は臭いから捨てたほうがいい。 This milk smells bad, so you should throw it out.
2. 靴を脱いだら足が臭かった。 When I took off my shoes, my feet smelled awful.
3. ゴミ箱が臭くてたまらない。 The trash can reeks so bad I can't stand it.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, food, complaints

Tone: negative

Origin & History

The kanji 臭 combines 自 (self/nose) and 犬 (dog), originally representing the keen sense of smell that dogs possess. Over time it came to mean 'stink' or 'smell bad.'

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal