臭
臭 — Stinking
stinking, ill-smelling, suspicious looking, odor, savor, fragrance
On’yomiシュウ (shuu)
Kun’yomiくさい (kusai)
Kun’yomi-くさい (kusai)
Kun’yomiにおう (niou)
Kun’yomiにおい (nioi)
Stroke order (9 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 臭
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 悪臭 | あくしゅう akushuu | bad smell; foul smell; offensive odor |
| 臭い | くさい kusai | stinking; smelly; suspicious |
| 生臭い | なまぐさい namagusai | smelling of fish; fishy; smelling of blood |
| 水臭い | みずくさい mizukusai | stand-offish; distant; not frank |
| 口臭 | こうしゅう koushuu | bad breath; halitosis |
| 異臭 | いしゅう ishuu | offensive smell; bad smell; foul smell |
Study notes
臭 is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught at secondary-school level in Japan. Ranked #1760 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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