i-adjective
smelling of rotten food or drink
Describes the sour, stale odor of spoiled food or beverages. Rare and literary; in everyday speech, 腐った臭い or すっぱい臭い are more common.
台所からすえ臭いにおいがする。
There's a smell of rotten food coming from the kitchen.
古い酒がすえ臭くなっていた。
The old sake had gone off and smelled sour.
Kanji spelling using 臭い for smell; rare and literary.
Alternate kanji spelling with 饐, a rare character for food spoilage; even less common.
Compound of すえ (饐え, spoilage) + 臭い (くさい, smelly). The exact origin of すえ is uncertain, but it is associated with food going bad.