芳かんばしい

か

ん

ば

し

い

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

芳しい · i-adjective

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

Meanings

i-adjective

fragrant; sweet-smelling; aromatic

Describes a pleasant, often sweet or refined scent. Somewhat literary; in everyday speech いい匂い is more common.

庭にわに芳かんばしい花はなの香かおりが漂ただよっている。
A fragrant floral scent is drifting through the garden.

i-adjective

favorable; good (reputation, results)

Almost always used in the negative form 芳しくない to mean 'not good', 'unfavorable', or 'poor'. Used for results, reputation, condition, etc.

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉が芳かんばしくないthe results/situation are not good
テストの結けっ果かが芳かんばしくなかった。
The test results were not good.
〈物もの〉の香かおりが芳かんばしいthe fragrance of something is sweet/pleasant
庭にわの花はなの香かおりが芳かんばしい。
The fragrance of the flowers in the garden is sweet.

Expressions

栴せん檀だんは双ふた葉ばより芳かんばしgenius shows from childhood; a great person's talent is evident early

Kanji

芳perfume, balmy, favorable
香incense, smell, perfume
馨fragrant, balmy, favourable

Related words

良りょう好こうN1sense 2
良好 is a common, neutral word for 'favorable/good condition', while 芳しい is mostly used in its negative form 芳しくない to mean results or reputation are poor.
はかばかしいN1
芳しい, like 捗々しい, is almost always used in negative sentences (芳しくない) to mean 'not satisfactory,' making the two very close in usage though 芳しい can also describe reputation or smell.
香こうばしいN1
香ばしい describes a toasty, roasted, or savory smell (coffee, grilled food), while 芳しい is a more literary word for a sweet or refined fragrance, often flowers.
香かおる
芳しい is a literary adjective meaning fragrant or sweet-smelling, whereas 香る is the everyday verb describing the act of smelling nice.

Don't confuse with

香こうばしいN1sense 1
香ばしい describes a toasty or roasted smell like coffee or sesame, while 芳しい describes a sweet, floral, or refined fragrance.
芳かんばしくないN1
芳しい is the positive base adjective meaning 'fragrant' or 'excellent' but is rarely used alone in modern speech, while 芳しくない is the fixed negative form meaning 'unsatisfactory'.

Word family

芳かんばしくないN1
poor; unsatisfactory; unfavorable

Written forms

芳かんばしいUsage79%
Standard kanji spelling for both literal fragrance and figurative favorable meanings.
かんばしいUsage21%
香かんばしい
Rare variant emphasizing literal sweet smell; 芳しい is overwhelmingly more common.
馨かんばしい
Very rare variant for literal fragrance; not practical for learners.

Etymology

Derived from classical Japanese かんばし (kanbashi), with the adjective ending しい. The kanji 芳 carries the meaning 'fragrant' or 'good reputation', and the word has retained both literal and figurative senses.