くさい

Japanese
Alternative spelling
臭い

Etymology

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.[1]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) くさ​い [kùsáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [2])
  • IPA(key): [kɯ̟̊ᵝsa̠i]
  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "臭い"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 臭く く​さく
くさ​く		 [kúꜜsàkù]
[kùsáꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) 臭い くさ​い [kùsáꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) 臭い くさ​い [kùsáꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative 臭くない く​さくない
くさ​くない		 [kúꜜsàkùnàì]
[kùsáꜜkùnàì]
Informal past 臭かった く​さかった
くさ​かった		 [kúꜜsàkàttà]
[kùsáꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past 臭くなかった く​さくなかった
くさ​くなかった		 [kúꜜsàkùnàkàttà]
[kùsáꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal 臭いです くさ​いです [kùsáꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive 臭くて く​さくて
くさ​くて		 [kúꜜsàkùtè]
[kùsáꜜkùtè]
Conditional 臭ければ く​さければ
くさ​ければ		 [kúꜜsàkèrèbà]
[kùsáꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective

くさい • (kusai) -i, adverbial くさく (kusaku)

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

Synonyms

See also

Suffix

くさい • (-kusai) 

  1. smells like; reeks of
    鉄(てつ)臭(くさ)い
    tetsu-kusai
    metallic, like blood
  2. (negatively) very much like; conceptually similar to
    ジジ臭(くさ)い
    jiji-kusai
    like an old man
    昭(しょう)和(わ)臭(くさ)い
    Shōwa-kusai
    like the Shōwa era
  3. (with a quasi-adjective stem) an intensifier
    面(めん)倒(どう)臭(くさ)い
    mendō-kusai
    a hassle

Usage notes

Forms an adjective.

References
  1. “臭”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
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