Japanese symbol for “musty”
古臭い
ふるくさい
Romaji: furukusai
stale; old fashioned; hackneyed; trite
In Japanese, musty is 古臭い, read ふるくさい (furukusai).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- adj-i stale; old fashioned; hackneyed; trite; antiquated; obsolete
Written forms: 古臭い、古くさい. Readings: ふるくさい.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “musty”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| カビ臭い | かびくさい kabikusai | smelling of mold; musty; putrid |
| 古ぼけた | ふるぼけた furuboketa | worn-out; threadbare; timeworn |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 古い | ふるい furui | old; aged; ancient |
| 古代 | こだい kodai | ancient times; distant past; antiquity |
| 中古 | ちゅうこ chuuko | used; second-hand; old |
| 古典 | こてん koten | classic (work, esp. book); the classics |
| 稽古 | けいこ keiko | practice; practising; training |
| 古本 | ふるほん furuhon | secondhand book |
| 臭い | くさい kusai | stinking; smelly |
| 悪臭 | あくしゅう akushuu | bad smell; foul smell; offensive odor |
See also: Chinese symbol for “musty”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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