body odor; underarm odor; bromhidrosis
Refers specifically to strong, often abnormal-smelling underarm sweat. Commonly used in everyday conversation and medical contexts.
I worry about body odor in the summer.
彼はワキガの治療を受けている。
He is receiving treatment for underarm odor.
体臭 is general body odor, while ワキガ specifically refers to underarm odor, often with a stronger or abnormal connotation.
汗臭い describes a sweaty smell in general, not necessarily the specific condition of ワキガ.
Most common spelling in everyday use; the word is usually written in kana.
Hiragana spelling, also common.
Kanji spelling; rarely used in practice. The reading えきしゅう is possible but very uncommon.
Alternate kanji spelling using 狐 (fox), implying a fox-like smell; rarely used.
Contains outdated kanji; not used in modern writing.
Derived from 腋 (わき, armpit) + 臭 (が, smell). The reading が is a rendaku form of くさ. The kanji spellings 狐臭 and 胡臭 are ateji based on the association of the smell with foxes.