Kusai is the Japanese word for ‘to smell bad’, explained

What does “kusai” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “kusai” often to mean ‘to smell bad’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain it together with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners use “kusai” more properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “kusai”
  • Example #1: how to say “smell bad” in Japanese
• Kusakunai: the nai form of “kusai”
  • Example #2: how to say “not smell bad” in Japanese
• Kusakatta: the ta form of “kusai”
  • Example #3: how to say “smelled bad” in Japanese
• Kusakute: the te form of “kusai”
  • Example #4: how to say “smell bad and” in Japanese
• Kusakereba: the ba form of “kusai”
  • Example #5: how to say “if smell bad” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “kusai”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “kusai”.

• kusai – 臭い (くさい) : an i-adjective, but quite often translated into English as ‘to smell bad’, ‘to stink’, or just ‘to smell’.

Grammatically this is an i-adjective, but quite often translated into English as ‘to smell bad’, ‘to stink’, or just ‘to smell’. Parts of speech are not always the same in different languages.

The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. The meanings seem to be based on similar concepts. Then, let me explain how to use this i-adjective through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “smell bad” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its possessive case, “boku no”, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• inu – 犬 (いぬ) : a noun meaning ‘dog’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku no inu” to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “kusai”. In the example, it works as the complement in the sentence. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier in front of a noun. For example, we can say “boku no kusai inu” to mean ‘my smelly dog’ in Japanese. It’s worth knowing, I think.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kusai” and how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its major conjugations. The first one is “kusakunai”.

Kusakunai: the nai form of “kusai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kusakunai”.

• kusakunai – 臭くない (くさくない) : the nai form of “kusai”, which means ‘not to smell bad’, ‘not to stink’, or ‘not to smell’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kusakunai” consists of the following two parts:

• kusaku – 臭く (くさく) : one conjugation of “kusai”. This can have a smooth connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is similar to that of “not”.

From these two parts, we can understand that “kusakunai” is literally the nai form of “kusai” and means ‘not to smell bad’, ‘not to stink’, or ‘not to smell’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “not smell bad” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. In the example, this works together with the case particle, “no”, to mean ‘my’ in Japanese.
• koinu – 子犬 (こいぬ) : a noun meaning ‘puppy’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is a typical usage of “kusakunai”. When we want to mean ‘not to smell bad’ in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.

Kusakatta: the ta form of “kusai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kusakatta”.

• kusakatta – 臭かった (くさかった) : the ta form of “kusai”, which means ‘smelled bad’, ‘stank’, ‘smelled’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kusakatta” consists of the following two parts:

• kusakat – 臭かっ (くさかっ) : one conjugation of “kusai”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “kusakatta” is literally the ta form of “kusai” and means ‘smelled bad’, ‘stank’, ‘smelled’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “smelled bad” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese. In the example, this works together with the case particle, “no”, to mean ‘her’ in Japanese.
• heya – 部屋 (へや) : a noun meaning ‘room’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is a typical usage of “kusakatta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “kusai”, this ta form is the best option.

Kusakute: the te form of “kusai”

Below are the definition and meanings of “kusakute”.

• kusakute – 臭くて (くさくて) : the te form of “kusai”, which means ‘to smell bad’, ‘to stink’, or ‘to smell’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kusakute” consists of the following two parts:

• kusaku – 臭く (くさく) : one conjugation of “kusai”. This can have a smooth connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “kusakute” is literally the te form of “kusai”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “kusakute” is very useful when we want to use “kusai” in front of another adjective, a verb, or an auxiliary verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “smell bad and” in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• kitanai – 汚い (きたない) : an i-adjective meaning ‘dirty’ or such in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “kusakute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with “kitanai”. When we want to use “kusai” in front of another adjective like this, its te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.

Kusakereba: the ba form of “kusai”

Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “kusakereba”.

• kusakereba – 臭ければ (くさければ) : the ba form of “kusai”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to smell bad’, ‘to stink’, or ‘to smell’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “kusakereba” consists of the following two parts:

• kusakere – 臭けれ (くさけれ) : one conjugation of “kusai”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “kusakereba” is literally the ba form of “kusai”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “kusakereba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding he meaning of ‘to smell bad’, ‘to stink’, or ‘to smell’ in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “if smell bad” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “heya” to make the subject in the conditional clause.
• oshie – 教え (おしえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “oshieru“, which means ‘to teach’, ‘to tell’, or ‘to let someone know’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : the same as used in “kusakute”. In this example, this is used after “oshie” to make its te form, “oshie te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
• kudasai – ください : one conjugation of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ or such in Japanese. When this follows a verb, however, this can work like an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’. In the example, this works like an auxiliary verb after “oshie te” to add the meaning of ‘please’.

This is a typical usage of “kusakereba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “heya ga kusakereba”, which means ‘if the room smells bad’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to smell bad’ in Japanese, this ba form is a good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “kusai” together with its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• kusai – 臭い (くさい) : an i-adjective, but quite often translated into English as ‘to smell bad’, ‘to stink’, or just ‘to smell’. This can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• kusakunai – 臭くない (くさくない) : the nai form of “kusai”, which means ‘not to smell bad’, ‘not to stink’, or ‘not to smell’ in Japanese.
• kusakatta – 臭かった (くさかった) : the ta form of “kusai”, which means ‘smelled bad’, ‘stank’, ‘smelled’, or such in Japanese.
• kusakute – 臭くて (くさくて) : the te form of “kusai”, which means ‘to smell bad’, ‘to stink’, or ‘to smell’ in Japanese. When we want to use “kusai” in front of another adjective, this te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
• kusakereba – 臭ければ (くさければ) : the ba form of “kusai”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to smell bad’, ‘to stink’, or ‘to smell’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.