# 臭 — stinking; smell

臭 means “stinking; smell”. It is a JLPT N1 kanji written with 9 strokes. On'yomi: シュウ (shuu). Kun'yomi: くさ(い) (kusai), にお(う) (niou). You'll see it in words such as 臭い (kusai, “stinking; smelly”).

- Meaning: stinking; smell
- On'yomi: シュウ (shuu)
- Kun'yomi: くさ(い) (kusai), にお(う) (niou)
- Strokes: 9
- Level: JLPT N1 · set Qualities 6

## How to remember 臭

Parts: 自 self; nose · 大 big

## Words with 臭

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 臭い | くさい (kusai) | stinking; smelly |
| 臭う | におう (niou) | to stink; to smell bad |
| 臭み | くさみ (kusami) | bad smell |

## Don't confuse it with

[自](https://moji.ninja/n4-kanji/self/) · [息](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/breath/)

## More in the “Qualities 6” set

[痴](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/silly/) · [凶](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/ill-fated/) · [粗](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/coarse/) · [寧](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/courteous/) · [凡](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/commonplace/) · [弊](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/bad-habit/) · [窮](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/destitute/) · [麗](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/lovely/) · [臭](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/stinking/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/stinking/. Last updated 2026-11-01.