How to say 'Smelly' in Japanese | 臭い

Wondering how to say 'Smelly' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Smelly is 'Kusai', written as 臭い in Japanese.'Smelly' in hiragana is くさい.

word

臭い

Meaning

Smelly

Reading

くさい

kusai

Kanji

臭Stinking, Bad smell

Explanation

The Japanese adjective '臭い (くさい)' means 'smelly' or 'having a bad odor'. It is used to describe something that emits an unpleasant smell. This word can also be used metaphorically to describe something suspicious or fishy in a non-literal sense. For example: This cheese is smelly「このチーズは臭い」(このチーズはくさい). Something about this situation seems fishy「この状況は何か臭い」(このじょうきょうはなにかくさい). Note that '臭い' can sometimes carry a negative connotation, so it should be used carefully in conversation.

Part Of Speech

adjective

Kanji JLPT

Kanji Grade

Frequency

2107

Composition

kanji-hiragana

Handwriting

This word is an i-adjective. To learn how it transforms in different tenses and forms, explore all its conjugations.

Kanji in the Word 臭い

This word contains 1 kanji character:

kanji

臭

Meaning

Stinking, Bad smell

Hiragana in the Word 臭い

This word contains 1 Hiragana character :

hiragana

い

Reading

Words Related to 臭い Through the Kanji 臭

These 3 Words contain the Kanji 臭 as well.

word

生臭い

Meaning

Fishy, Bloody

word

臭う

Meaning

Smell

word

面倒臭い

Meaning

Troublesome

Learn the Word 臭い

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What does 'Kusai' (臭い) mean?

'Kusai' means 'Smelly' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.