Japanese symbol for “stink”
悪臭
あくしゅう
Romaji: akushuu
bad smell; foul smell; offensive odor; stench
In Japanese, stink is 悪臭, read あくしゅう (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
- n bad smell; foul smell; offensive odor; stench; stink
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “stink”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 臭気 | しゅうき shuuki | bad smell; stink |
| 匂う | におう niou | to stink; to smell (bad) |
| 臭味 | しゅうみ shuumi | bad smell; stink |
| 悪臭を放つ | あくしゅうをはなつ akushuuohanatsu | to give off a stench; to stink |
| 鼻につく | はなにつく hananitsuku | to stink |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 最悪 | さいあく saiaku | worst |
| 悪口 | わるぐち waruguchi | (verbal) abuse; speaking ill of people; bad-mouthing |
| 悪化 | あっか akka | deterioration; getting worse; worsening |
| 悪魔 | あくま akuma | devil; demon; fiend |
| 悪い | わるい warui | bad; poor; undesirable |
| 悪質 | あくしつ akushitsu | malicious; vicious; malignant |
| 臭い | くさい kusai | stinking; smelly |
| 古臭い | ふるくさい furukusai | stale; 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.