匂におう

に

お

う

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

匂う · godan verb (-u)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	匂におう	匂におわない
Polite	匂においます	匂においません
Past polite	匂においました	匂においませんでした
Past	匂におった	匂におわなかった
Te-form	匂におって	匂におわないで
Desire	匂においたい	匂においたくない
Potential	匂におえる	匂におえない
Passive	匂におわれる	匂におわれない
Causative	匂におわせる	匂におわせない
Causative passive	匂におわせられるalso 匂におわされる	匂におわせられないalso 匂におわされない
Volitional	匂におおう
Polite volitional	匂においましょう
Imperative	匂におえ	匂におうな
Conditional	匂におえば	匂におわなければ
Tara conditional	匂におったら	匂におわなかったら

Pairs with匂わす

Meanings

godan verb (-u), intransitive verb

smell good; be fragrant

Describes a pleasant scent. The kanji 匂う is strongly preferred for this meaning.

台だい所どころからカレーのいい匂においがする。
A nice smell of curry is coming from the kitchen.

Transitive / intransitive

匂におわす

匂わす is the transitive counterpart of 匂う, meaning to actively give off or hint at a scent or impression rather than simply having one.

匂におわせる

匂わせる is the transitive counterpart of 匂う, used to describe deliberately making something smell or suggest a certain impression.

Related words

香かおる sense 1

香る is a more elegant, literary word for a pleasant scent, while 匂う is the everyday verb for smelling good.

鼻はなにつくN1

臭う is the standard verb for 'to smell/stink,' while 鼻につく's literal sense is a more literary, less frequent expression for an unpleasant smell reaching the nose.

臭くさいN4

臭う is the verb form describing the act of giving off a bad smell or suspicious air, while 臭い is the adjective describing that state.

Don't confuse with

臭くさいN4sense 2

臭い is an adjective meaning 'stinky' and is more blunt and colloquial than 匂う, which as a verb can describe either a good or bad smell depending on context.

嗅かぐN2

嗅ぐ is a transitive verb meaning to actively sniff or smell something, while 匂う is intransitive and means that something gives off a smell.

Written forms

匂におうUsage46%

Standard kanji for pleasant smells and figurative 'smack of' uses.

臭におうUsage29%

Used specifically for bad smells; it is the usual kanji for the stink sense.

におうUsage24%

Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the smell is neutral or the intended kanji is not important.

匂におう

Meanings

Usage patterns

Expressions