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分別臭い (ふんべつくさい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

分ふん別べつ臭くさい

ふ

ん

べ

つ

く

さ

い

Meanings

1

i-adjective

prudent-looking; looking sensible; appearing wise

Describes someone who seems to have good judgment or common sense, often with a slightly negative nuance of being overly serious or smug.

彼かれは分ふん別べつ臭くさい顔かおでアドバイスをくれた。
He gave me advice with a prudent-looking face.
分ふん別べつ臭くさいことを言いうけど、本ほん当とう

は

何なに

も

わかっ

て

い

ない

。

He says things that sound sensible, but he really doesn't understand anything.

Written forms

分ふん別べつ臭くさい
Standard kanji spelling.
分ふん別べつくさい
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; common in casual writing.

Kanji

分part, minute of time, segment
別separate, branch off, diverge
臭stinking, ill-smelling, suspicious looking

Similar words

分ふん別べつ
分別 is the noun meaning 'discretion' or 'good judgment'; 分別臭い adds the adjective ending ～臭い to mean 'smelling of discretion', i.e., appearing prudent.
賢さかしい
賢しい also means 'prudent' or 'wise', but is more formal and less common in everyday speech.

Etymology

Compound of 分別 (ふんべつ, 'discretion') + 臭い (くさい, 'smelling of'), literally 'smelling of discretion'. The suffix ～臭い often adds a negative nuance of pretentiousness or affectation.