Meaning of 臭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- stench
- smelly
- to smell (bad)
- repulsive
- loathsome
- terrible
- bad
- severely
- sense of smell
- smell bad
How to use 臭
臭 (chòu) mainly describes bad smells, but in casual speech it also means bad or disliked, as in 臭棋 (a bad chess move) or 臭脾气 (a nasty temper). Example: 这个鱼有点臭了。(Zhège yú yǒudiǎn chòu le.) This fish smells a bit off.
The top part 自 looks like a nose, and below it sits 大 (big). Picture a big smell hitting your nose, and you have 臭 (chòu), smelly.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 臭 with 嗅 (xiù, to sniff), which adds 口 on the left and is a verb, not an adjective. In simplified writing the bottom is 大 with no extra dot, so do not write it as 犬.
臭 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
臭 chòu · stench · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 臭.
| 臭味 | chòuwèi | bad smell; foul odor |
| 臭名昭著 | chòumíngzhāozhù | notorious; infamous |
| 恶臭 | èchòu | stink; stench; stinky; smelly |
| 臭屁 | chòupì | (coll.) self-important; puffed up |
| 发臭 | fāchòu | smelly; to smell bad |
| 臭虫 | chòuchóng | bedbug (Cimex lectularius); tick |
| 口臭 | kǒuchòu | bad breath; halitosis |
| 臭鼬 | chòuyòu | skunk |
| 臭臭 | chòuchou | (baby talk) poop; poo |
| 乳臭未干 | rǔxiùwèigān | lit. smell of breast milk not yet dried (idiom); fig. immature and inexperienced; still we |
| 除臭剂 | chúchòujì | deodorant |
| 臭脸 | chòuliǎn | sour face; scowling face |
Questions about 臭
What does 臭 mean?
臭 (chòu) means "stench; smelly" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 臭?
臭 is made of 1 character: 臭 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 臭 an HSK word?
Yes. 臭 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
When is 臭 read xiù instead of chòu?
The xiù reading is old and literary, meaning a smell or the sense of smell, as in 无色无臭 (wú sè wú xiù, colorless and odorless). In everyday modern Chinese you will almost always say chòu.
What does 臭美 mean?
臭美 (chòuměi) is a teasing word for someone who shows off their looks or acts vain. Friends use it playfully, for example 别臭美了 (bié chòuměi le), stop showing off.