King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “stink”

Romaji: akushuu
bad smell; foul smell; offensive odor; stench

In Japanese, stink is , read (akushuu).

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

  1. n bad smell; foul smell; offensive odor; stench; stink

Kanji and stroke order

bad, vice, rascal
on: アク、オ
kun: わる.い、わる-、あ.し、にく.い
11 strokes · JLPT 3
stinking, ill-smelling, suspicious looking
on: シュウ
kun: くさ.い、-くさ.い、にお.う、にお.い
9 strokes · JLPT 1

Other Japanese words for “stink”

WordReadingMeaning
しゅうき shuukibad smell; stink
におう niouto stink; to smell (bad)
しゅうみ shuumibad smell; stink
あくしゅうをはなつ akushuuohanatsuto give off a stench; to stink
はなにつく hananitsukuto stink

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
さいあく saiakuworst
わるぐち waruguchi(verbal) abuse; speaking ill of people; bad-mouthing
あっか akkadeterioration; getting worse; worsening
あくま akumadevil; demon; fiend
わるい waruibad; poor; undesirable
あくしつ akushitsumalicious; vicious; malignant
くさい kusaistinking; smelly
ふるくさい furukusaistale; old fashioned; hackneyed

See also: Chinese symbol for “stink”.

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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