臭い
kusai
The phrase "smells bad" in Japanese is 臭い (kusai).
臭い is used to describe an offensive or unpleasant odor. You can emphasize how strong a smell is by adding すごく before 臭い. There is also a specific phrase, オヤジ臭い, which is used to describe a smell that is reminiscent of an older man.
How does it change in a sentence?
臭い is an i-adjective.
How do you pronounce it?
kusai
Did you know?
- In Japanese, the word 臭い can also be used as a slang term to mean 'suspicious' or 'fishy'. If someone's story doesn't add up, you might say it 'smells' bad in a metaphorical sense.
- In casual speech, people often lengthen the vowel sound of 臭い to くっさい (kussai) to express a visceral, sudden reaction to a foul odor.
- In Japanese culinary criticism, if a food has a strong, pungent odor that is actually pleasant, such as fermented soybeans, people will avoid using 臭い and instead use terms describing the 'strong aroma' to avoid sounding rude.
Examples in context
- 臭いけど、美味しいのよ。This smells bad, but it tastes good.This sentence is useful for showing how to contrast a bad smell with good taste using 臭い.Tatoeba #10177290 by small_snow, translation #1898065 by CK
- 超臭いよ。It smells bad.This sentence shows how to express that something smells bad using 臭い.Tatoeba #1431791 by bunbuku, translation #1841612 by CK
- この料理は悪い匂いがします。This dish smells bad.
- あのゴミ箱の臭いは不快です。The smell from that garbage bin is unpleasant.
- このゴミ箱、すごく臭い。Kono gomibako, sugoku kusai.This trash can smells really bad.
Example conversation
Ren and Himari are looking at a trash can in the kitchen.
- 蓮 Renねえ、ここだけなんか臭いよ。Nee, koko dake nanka kusai yo.Hey, it smells bad just in this spot.
- 陽葵 Himariあ、ゴミ箱の中身が腐ってるかも。A, gomibako no nakami ga kusatteru kamo.Oh, the stuff in the trash can might be rotting.
- 蓮 Ren本当に臭いな。すぐに捨ててくるよ。Hontou ni kusai na. Sugu ni sutete kuru yo.It really smells bad. I'll go throw it out right now.
- 陽葵 Himariお願い。蓮くん、ありがとう。Onegai. Ren-kun, arigatou.Please. Thank you, Ren.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 臭い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
