漢字Kanji · in Time & Sequence
臭: stinking, ill-smelling
Also: suspicious looking, odor, savor, fragrance, be fragrant, stink, glow, be bright
自 carries the meaning · 大 is drawn in
Small seal · Qin Today
Small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Three readings, and the words that use each
シュウshuu · on'yomi · in compounds
- 悪臭あくしゅうbad smell; foul smell; offensive odor
くさいkusai · kun'yomi · on its own
- 臭いくさいstinking; smelly
- 生臭いなまぐさいsmelling of fish; fishy; smelling of blood
- 水臭いみずくさいstand-offish; distant; not frank
におうniou · kun'yomi
- 臭うにおうto be fragrant; to smell (good)
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- 面倒臭いめんどくさいbothersome; tiresome; bother to do
Also read -くさい, におい, with no example words in our sources. Words: JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogrammic compound (會意)犬 dog + 自 nose
Ideogrammic compound (會意): 犬 (“dog”) + 自 (“nose”), referring to the dog's strong sense of smell. Original form of 嗅 (“to smell”).
Source: Wiktionary, 臭 (rev. 93770894), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Self/nose (自) + dog (犬). Imagine a sensitive "dog" using its sharp "nose" (the self-referencing organ) to detect a powerful and distinctive scent.”
Connections
Easy to confuse
The difference, side by sideIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · chòu
Same form: 臭 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 臭 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 臭 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin chòu most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.