Chinese word

臭

Pronunciation

Pinyinchòu

Meaning

  • adjectivesmelly

Example

这件衣服很臭。zhè jiàn yī fú hěn chòu

This piece of clothing is very smelly.

Illustration for 臭 (smelly)

More examples

地铁里有人身上臭味，让人不舒服。dì tiě lǐ yǒu rén shēn shàng chòu wèi ràng rén bù shū fú

Someone on the subway smells bad, making people uncomfortable.

Core concept

A sharp, unpleasant odor that clings to its source and makes the surrounding air hard to tolerate.

Common phrases

  • 变得臭biàn de chòu

    become smelly

  • 臭气扑鼻chòu qì pū bí

    pungent smell

  • 臭得要命chòu de yào mìng

    extremely smelly

Similar words

难闻nán wén: Having an unpleasant smell that people do not like.
刺鼻cì bí: Having a sharp smell that strongly irritates the nose.
恶臭è chòu: Having an extremely strong, foul smell that suggests decay or dirt.
腐臭fǔ chòu: Having the strong, unpleasant smell produced by rotting.

Definition in Chinese

发出令人反感或刺激的气味，常用于描述腐败、汗味等强烈的异味fā chū lìng rén fán gǎn huò cì jī de qì wèi cháng yòng yú miáo shù fǔ bài hàn wèi děng qiáng liè de yì wèi

Word origin

臭 (chòu, "smelly") is built from 自 (zì, "nose") and 犬 (quǎn, "dog"), an early picture of a smell detected by the nose that became associated with especially unpleasant odors.

Usage tips

  • For English speakers, smell can describe something pleasant or unpleasant, while this word normally gives a clear negative judgment and can sound blunt when used about a person's clothes or body.

Other meanings

  • smellverb
  • stinknoun

Opposites

  • 芳香fāng xiāngfragrantadjective
  • 清香qīng xiāngpleasantly fragrantadjective

Related words

  • 臭气chòu qìbad smellnoun
  • 发臭fā chòustinkverb

Word lists with this word