悪臭

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 悪臭 is a noun read あくしゅう, meaning an unpleasant or foul odor.
• Basic usage: Mark the source with から, express the odor's presence with 悪臭がする, and describe a change in strength with 悪臭が弱まる.
  • 排水口から悪臭がしたので、すぐに掃除した。 describes cleaning immediately because a foul odor came from the drain; ごみ袋を閉じると、部屋の悪臭は少し弱まった。 says that closing the garbage bag made the room's foul odor slightly weaker.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• から悪臭がする
  • から marks the source from which the smell spreads, while が marks the odor being detected.
• 悪臭は少し弱まった
  • 少し means the odor became somewhat weaker rather than disappearing completely.
• 悪臭 and におい
  • におい can broadly refer to pleasant or unpleasant smells, while 悪臭 explicitly means a foul odor.