臭い
kusai
The Japanese word for "smelly" is 臭い (kusai).
臭い is an adjective used to describe something that has an unpleasant or bad odor. You can add particles to the end of the word to change the nuance: adding ね (kusai ne) makes it a request for agreement, as in "It smells, doesn't it?", while adding よ (kusai yo) emphasizes the speaker's own opinion.
Meaning: having a bad smell (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, 臭い can be conjugated. The negative form, meaning "not smelly", is 臭くない. To express the past tense, "was smelly", use 臭かった.
How do you pronounce it?
kusai
When do people say it?
In Japanese culture, certain colloquial expressions are used to describe specific unpleasant body odors. For example, おっさん臭い (ossan kusai) is a common way to describe a specific type of unpleasant body odor associated with middle-aged men.
Did you know?
- In certain slang contexts, 臭い can be used to describe someone who is acting overly sentimental or 'cheesy' in a cringeworthy way.
- The word 臭い is often used metaphorically to describe a situation that feels 'fishy' or suspicious, similar to the English phrase 'I smell a rat'.
- Japanese has many specialized words for specific smells, such as 生臭い (namagusai), which describes a fishy or 'raw' smell that is particularly unpleasant.
Examples in context
- このタオル、臭い。This towel is smelly.This sentence shows how to describe a smelly towel using 臭い.Tatoeba #8817028 by small_snow, translation #8529737 by Amastan
- 「自分の足が臭いと思っている人の足は臭く、思っていない人のは臭くない」という研究結果がある。The conclusion reached by a study is "People who think their feet are smelly, have smelly feet, people who think they aren't, don't."This sentence uses 臭い to describe the relationship between perception and the smell of feet.Tatoeba #330318 by sugisaki, translation #532876 by blay_paul
- 加齢臭は、年を重ねると出てくる中高年独特のにおいのことだ。世間で言う「おっさん臭い」や「おやじ臭」というのは、この加齢臭のことだ。Kareishu is a special smell that comes as old people age. Popular expressions such as: "Ossan kusai" or "Oyaji kusai" (smelly old man) refer to this smell.This sentence uses 臭い within colloquial expressions to describe the smell associated with middle-aged men.Tatoeba #401949 by Grayster, translation #401953 by Grayster
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ren and Misaki are walking through a narrow alleyway.
- 蓮 Renこの路地、ちょっと臭いね。Kono roji, chotto kusai ne.This alley is a bit smelly, isn't it?
- 美咲 Misaki本当だ。ゴミ箱の近くかな？Hontou da. Gomibako no chikaku kana?True. I wonder if it's near the trash cans?
- 蓮 Ren美咲、鼻をつまんだほうがいいよ。Misaki, hana o tsumunda hou ga ii yo.Misaki, you should cover your nose.
- 美咲 Misakiうん、早く通り抜けよう！Un, hayaku toorinukeyou!Yeah, let's get through this quickly!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 臭い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
