(あや)しい

あやしい
i-adjective
suspicious; dubious; uncertain
descriptive
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present(あや)しい(あや)しくない
Past(あや)しかった(あや)しくなかった
て form(あや)しくて(あや)しくなくて
Adverbial(あや)しく
Conditional ば(あや)しければ(あや)しくなければ
Conditional たら(あや)しかったら(あや)しくなかったら
1. suspicious, shady
Describes a person or thing that seems untrustworthy or potentially dangerous.
(あや)しい(ひと)いる
There's a suspicious person.
That man's behavior is suspicious.
I heard a suspicious sound on the dark street at night.
2. dubious, uncertain, unreliable
Describes something of questionable quality, accuracy, or likelihood.
天気(てんき)(あや)しい。
The weather looks iffy.
I think that story is dubious.
His Japanese is shaky, but he's trying hard to speak.

Forms: (あや)しく (adverbial), (あや)しさ (noun form).

Sense 1 covers people, behavior, and situations that arouse suspicion. Sense 2 covers things that are unreliable or of questionable quality — often used for weather, skills, or claims.

Common collocations

Similar words: (うたが)わしい focuses on doubt or disbelief, while (あや)しい carries a nuance of something being creepy, off, or unreliable.