臭い

Japanese

Kanji in this term

臭

Adjective

臭い (い-i inflection, hiragana くさい, romaji kusai)

1. stinking, smelly, pungent; giving off a bad smell
2. suspicious, fishy; arousing suspicion

Synonyms

• (suspicious): 胡散臭い (うさんくさい, usankusai)

Related terms

• 腐る

Noun

臭い (hiragana におい, romaji nioi)

1. odor, scent, smell, whiff, stench
2. aura
3. sense
4. flavor
5. smacks of

Usage notes

• More often written as 匂い.

Suffix

臭い (hiragana くさい, romaji -kusai)

1. smells like; reeks of
2. (negatively) very much like; conceptually similar to

   ジジ臭い

   ジジくさい
   jijikusai

   like an old man

3. (with a quasi-adjective stem) an intensifier

   面倒臭い

   めんどうくさい
   mendōkusai

   a hassle

Usage notes

Forms an adjective.