怪しい (あやしい, ayashii) Japanese meaning: suspicious | Kotomora

怪あやしい

あ

や

し

い

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

怪しい · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	怪あやしい	怪あやしくない
Polite	怪あやしいです	怪あやしくないですalso 怪あやしくありません
Past polite	怪あやしかったです	怪あやしくなかったですalso 怪あやしくありませんでした
Past	怪あやしかった	怪あやしくなかった
Te-form	怪あやしくて	怪あやしくなくて
Adverbial	怪あやしく
Conditional	怪あやしければ	怪あやしくなければ
Tara conditional	怪あやしかったら	怪あやしくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective

suspicious; shady; fishy

Used when something or someone seems dishonest, illegal, or not quite right. Covers people, behavior, deals, and situations.

Kanji

怪suspicious, mystery, apparition

Related words· 7

疑うたがわしいN2sense 1
疑わしい points to a more objective, evidence-based suspicion, while 怪しい can be a vaguer, gut-feeling sense that something is off.
不ふ審しんN1sense 1
不審 is a formal noun/adjectival-noun typically used in official or police contexts like 不審者, whereas 怪しい is the everyday adjective for the same idea.
胡う散さん臭くさい sense 1
胡散臭い is a colloquial, often stronger way to say something feels shady or fishy, close in feel to 怪しい but more emphatic and informal.
臭くさいN4
怪しい is the general, neutral word for something suspicious or strange, while 臭い is a more colloquial, metaphorical way of saying something 'smells' fishy.

Show 3 more

黒くろいN5
怪しい is the general word for suspicious or dubious, while 黒い in this sense implies suspicion of actual crime or illegality.
不ぶ気き味みN2
怪しい emphasizes suspicion or doubt about someone's intentions, while 不気味 emphasizes an eerie, unsettling feeling without necessarily implying wrongdoing.
おかしいN4
怪しい implies stronger suspicion, often hinting at danger or deceit, while おかしい can simply mean something feels a bit off.

Opposites

確たしかN4sense 2
確か describes something certain or reliable, the opposite of 怪しい used to mean doubtful or uncertain.
もっともらしいN1
怪しい means suspicious or dubious-looking, the opposite of 尤もらしい, which means something looks convincing or believable.
間ま違ちがいない
怪しい means suspicious or doubtful, the opposite of the sure, no-doubt feeling conveyed by 間違いない.

Don't confuse with

妖あやしい sense 7
妖しい shares the same reading as 怪しい but is reserved for a mysterious, bewitching charm rather than plain suspicion or doubt.
卑いやしいN1
怪しい (suspicious) sounds and looks similar to 卑しい but describes doubtfulness rather than greed or baseness.

Word family

怪あやしげ
suspicious-looking; doubtful; questionable
怪あやしむN2
suspect; be suspicious of; doubt

Written forms

怪あやしいUsage76%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses. High-frequency word.
あやしいUsage22%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when the kanji is not needed.
アヤシイUsage1%

Etymology

Derived from classical Japanese adjective あやし, which originally meant 'strange, mysterious, wonderful'. The kanji 怪 carries the meaning 'suspicious, mysterious'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.

怪あやしい

Meanings

Usage patterns· 7

Expressions