腐くさる

く

さ

る

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

腐る · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	腐くさる	腐くさらない
Polite	腐くさります	腐くさりません
Past polite	腐くさりました	腐くさりませんでした
Past	腐くさった	腐くさらなかった
Te-form	腐くさって	腐くさらないで
Desire	腐くさりたい	腐くさりたくない
Potential	腐くされる	腐くされない
Passive	腐くさられる	腐くさられない
Causative	腐くさらせる	腐くさらせない
Causative passive	腐くさらせられるalso 腐くさらされる	腐くさらせられないalso 腐くさらされない
Volitional	腐くさろう
Polite volitional	腐くさりましょう
Imperative	腐くされ	腐くさるな
Conditional	腐くされば	腐くさらなければ
Tara conditional	腐くさったら	腐くさらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

rot; go bad; spoil; decompose

For organic matter breaking down, food spoiling, or milk turning sour. Intransitive.

冷れい蔵ぞう庫こに入いれないと、肉にくが腐くさるよ。
If you don't put it in the fridge, the meat will go bad.
落おち葉ばが腐くさって土つちになる。
Fallen leaves rot and become soil.

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

corrode; weather; crumble

For metal rusting, wood rotting, or materials deteriorating from age or exposure.

鉄てつが腐くさってボロボロになった。
The iron corroded and became crumbly.
長なが年ねん放ほう置ちされた木きの橋はしが腐くさっている。
The wooden bridge, neglected for years, is rotting.

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

become useless; blunt; weaken from disuse

For skills, senses, or tools deteriorating from lack of practice or use. Often used with 腕 (skill) or 舌 (taste).

練れん習しゅうしないと腕うでが腐くさる。
If you don't practice, your skills will get rusty.
包ほう丁ちょうが腐くさって切きれなくなった。
The knife has become blunt and won't cut.

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

become depraved; be corrupt; be morally bankrupt

For a person's character or an organization becoming rotten, corrupt, or degenerate.

金かねに目めがくらんで、あの政せい治じ家かは腐くさった。
Blinded by money, that politician became corrupt.
腐くさった社しゃ会かいを変かえたい。
I want to change this rotten society.

godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb

be depressed; feel down; be dispirited

Used in the phrase 気が腐る to mean feeling discouraged or depressed. The standalone verb is less common for this meaning.

See also: 気が腐る (きがくさる)

雨あめばかりで気きが腐くさる。
All this rain is getting me down.
失しっ敗ぱいして気きが腐くさっている。
I'm feeling discouraged after failing.

auxiliary verb, godan verb (-ru)

have the audacity to; be bastard enough to

usually written using kana alone

Kansai dialect auxiliary verb attached to the -masu stem. Expresses scorn or disdain for another's action. Usually written in kana.

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が腐くさるfor something (food, organic matter) to rot or spoil
冷れい蔵ぞう庫こに入いれ忘わすれた肉にくが腐くさってしまった。
The meat I forgot to put in the fridge went bad.
腕うでが腐くさるfor one's skill to grow rusty from lack of practice
しばらく弾ひかないとピアノの腕うでが腐くさってしまう。
If you don't play for a while, your piano skills get rusty.
根こん性じょうが腐くさるfor a person's character to become morally corrupt
権けん力りょくを持もつと根こん性じょうが腐くさってしまう人ひともいる。
Some people become morally corrupt once they gain power.
舌したが腐くさるfor one's sense of taste to become dulled
ファストフードばかり食たべていると舌したが腐くさる。
Eating only fast food dulls your sense of taste.

Expressions

気きが腐くさるfeel dispirited; feel discouraged
腐くさるほどmore than one can use; countless; rolling in
魚さかなは頭あたまから腐くさるthe fish rots from the head; decay starts at the top

Kanji

腐rot, decay, sour

Related words

朽くちるN1sense 1
朽ちる is a literary word for slow decay of wood, buildings, or reputation over time, while 腐る is the everyday word for organic rot and spoilage.
やがる sense 6
やがる is the standard Japanese auxiliary expressing scorn at someone's action, while 腐る is the Kansai dialect equivalent attached to the -masu stem.
痛いたむN2sense 1
傷む describes food becoming slightly damaged or less fresh, while 腐る means it has fully rotted and gone bad.
蝕むしばむN1
腐る means 'to rot' or 'to go bad', focusing on decomposition, while 蝕む implies gradual erosion or undermining, often by an external agent.
足あしが早はやいN1
腐る means the food has actually rotted, while 足が早い describes the property of spoiling quickly before it necessarily rots.

Don't confuse with

錆さびるN2sense 2
錆びる specifically means metal rusting, whereas 腐る covers a broader range of decay including food, wood, and metal.
腐くさす
腐す looks like a form of 腐る but is a separate transitive verb meaning to speak ill of or disparage someone.

Word family

腐くさり
rottenness; decay; corruption
舐なめ腐くさる
look down on; treat with contempt; mock; make light of · be cheeky; be impudent; be insolent
腐くさりかけた
spoiled; half-rotten; decaying
腐くさり果はてる
become completely corrupt; rot away entirely

Written forms

腐くさるUsage84%
Standard kanji spelling for all senses except the Kansai auxiliary verb, which is usually written in kana.
くさるUsage16%
Kana spelling is usual for the Kansai auxiliary verb sense; also acceptable for other senses in casual writing.

Etymology

Native Japanese verb. The kanji 腐 is composed of 肉 (meat) and 府 (warehouse), suggesting meat left in storage and spoiling. The reading くさる is of uncertain origin, possibly related to 臭い (くさい, smelly).