How do you use "Something fishy" in a sentence?

There's something fishy going on here. That deal sounds fishy to me. I smell something fishy about his story.

Something fishy

Q: What does "Something fishy" mean?

Suspicious; something that doesn't seem right. 'Something fishy' means something suspicious—not quite right, likely dishonest. Fish smell when they go bad, and that unpleasant odour translates to sensing wrongdoing.

Slang Term BritishAmericanAustralian ★★★★★ Very Common Casual

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Meaning: Suspicious; something that doesn't seem right.

可疑的；看起来不太对劲的。

Sospechoso; algo que no parece estar bien.

怪しい、何かおかしい。

수상한, 뭔가 이상한.

'Something fishy' means something suspicious—not quite right, likely dishonest. Fish smell when they go bad, and that unpleasant odour translates to sensing wrongdoing.

'Something fishy（有鱼腥味的东西）'意思是有什么可疑的——不太对劲，可能有不诚实的事。鱼变质时会发臭，这种令人不快的气味被转化为察觉到不正当行为。

'Something fishy' (algo que huele a pescado) significa algo sospechoso — que no cuadra, probablemente deshonesto. El pescado huele cuando se pone malo, y ese olor desagradable se traduce en la percepción de algo turbio.

「サムシング・フィッシー（何か魚臭い）」は何か怪しい—何かがおかしい、おそらく不正があるという意味です。魚は腐ると臭くなる、その不快な臭いが不正を感じ取ることに転じました。

'Something fishy'는 뭔가 수상하다는 뜻으로, 뭔가 제대로 되지 않았거나 부정직할 가능성이 있다는 의미입니다. 생선이 상하면 나는 불쾌한 냄새처럼, 부정행위를 감지한다는 느낌을 표현합니다.

Examples

There's something fishy going on here.
这里有蹊跷。
Aquí hay gato encerrado.
ここで何か怪しいことが起きている。
여기서 뭔가 수상한 일이 벌어지고 있어.
That deal sounds fishy to me.
那笔交易听起来不太对劲。
Ese trato me suena sospechoso.
その取引は怪しく聞こえる。
그 거래는 나한테 수상하게 들려.
I smell something fishy about his story.
我觉得他的故事有猫腻。
Me huele raro su historia.
彼の話には何か胡散臭いものを感じる。
그의 이야기에서 뭔가 석연치 않은 냄새가 나.

Pronunciation

/ˈfɪʃi/

Usage Guide

Context: suspicion, dishonesty, investigation

Tone: suspicious, cautious

✓ Do Say

Fishy
可疑的
sospechoso
怪しい
수상한
Something fishy
有蹊跷
algo sospechoso
何か怪しい
뭔가 수상해
Smells fishy
闻着不对劲
huele raro
胡散臭い
냄새가 나

Common Mistakes

About suspicion, not actual fish

Origin & History

From the unpleasant smell of rotting fish. If something smells fishy, it's off—and by extension, suspicious. The connection between bad smells and wrongdoing is intuitive.

Etymology: Rotting fish smells bad = something is wrong

First recorded: 19th century

Cultural Context

Era: 19th century onwards

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal

Pop culture: Universal expression

Regional notes: English-language universal.

Variations

FishySomething fishySmells fishy