臭い
kusai
The Japanese word for "stinky" is 臭い, pronounced kusai.
臭い is the most common and neutral way to express that something has a strong, unpleasant smell. It is used for a wide range of odors, such as body odor, rotting food or garbage.
Meaning: having a strong, unpleasant smell (adj)
Which one should you use?
While the kanji 臭い is common, you will frequently see the word written in hiragana as くさい to make it easier to read.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
To make the expression polite and suitable for more formal social situations, you can add です (desu) to the end to say 臭いです.
How do you pronounce it?
kusai
Did you know?
- In Japanese slang, 臭い is used to describe something that is 'cheesy' or overly sentimental, such as a cliché romantic movie scene.
- Japanese has a specific term, 加齢臭 (kareishū), which refers specifically to the unique 'stinky' scent associated with aging.
- While an English speaker might say 'that's stinky' to describe a bad situation, a Japanese person is more likely to use the phrase 臭い話 (kusai hanashi) to describe a story that smells of suspicion or corruption.
Examples in context
- 超臭いよ。It's really stinky.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of the adjective 臭い with an intensifier.Tatoeba #1431791 by bunbuku, translation #265055 by CK
- Koko wa kusai desu (ここはくさいです)It smells bad here.
- この靴下、すごく臭い。Kono kutsushita, sugoku kusai.These socks are really stinky.
Example conversation
In a living room, Yui and Yota are cleaning up.
- 結衣 Yui陽太、その袋、すごく臭いよ。Yota, sono fukuro, sugoku kusai yo.Yota, that bag is really stinky.
- 陽太 Yotaごめん、これ、生ゴミだよ。Gomen, kore, namagomi dayo.Sorry, it's food waste.
- 結衣 Yui早く外に持って行って！Hayaku soto ni motte itte!Take it outside quickly!
- 陽太 Yotaわかった、すぐ出すよ。Wakatta, sugu dasu yo.Okay, I'll take it out right away.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 臭い, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
