古臭(ふるくさ)い

ふるくさい
i-adjective
old-fashioned; outdated; stale
descriptive
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present古臭(ふるくさ)い古臭(ふるくさ)くない
Past古臭(ふるくさ)かった古臭(ふるくさ)くなかった
て form古臭(ふるくさ)くて古臭(ふるくさ)くなくて
Adverbial古臭(ふるくさ)く—
Conditional ば古臭(ふるくさ)ければ古臭(ふるくさ)くなければ
Conditional たら古臭(ふるくさ)かったら古臭(ふるくさ)くなかったら
1. old-fashioned; outdated; antiquated
Describes something that feels out of date, behind the times, or no longer in style. Carries a negative connotation — the speaker finds the thing undesirably old.
そのデザインは古臭(ふるくさ)い。
That design is old-fashioned.
古臭(ふるくさ)い考(かんが)え方(かた)を変(か)えたほうがいい。
You should change your outdated way of thinking.
この映画(えいが)はストーリーが古臭(ふるくさ)くて、あまり楽(たの)しめなかった。
The movie's story was so outdated that I couldn't really enjoy it.
2. stale; musty
Describes a smell or atmosphere that feels stagnant or old, as if something has been sitting for too long.
部屋(へや)に古臭(ふるくさ)いにおいがする。
The room smells musty.
押(お)し入(い)れを開(あ)けると古臭(ふるくさ)い空気(くうき)が漂(ただよ)ってきた。
When I opened the closet, a stale smell drifted out.
何年(なんねん)も使(つか)っていない倉庫(そうこ)は、古臭(ふるくさ)い匂(にお)いが染(し)みついている。
A warehouse that hasn't been used for years has a musty smell soaked into it.

Usage

古臭(ふるくさ)い is an i-adjective. It always carries a negative nuance — unlike 古(ふる)い, which can be neutral or even positive (e.g., for antiques), 古臭(ふるくさ)い implies the speaker finds the oldness undesirable.

Common collocations

Similar words

古(ふる)い simply means "old" and is neutral. 時代遅(じだいおく)れ means "behind the times" and focuses more on being out of step with the current era. 古臭(ふるくさ)い is more colloquial and visceral.

Related Words

Synonym: 時代遅(じだいおく)れ (behind the times)
Related: 古(ふる)い (old; neutral)
Compare: みすぼらしい (shabby)
Compare: 流行遅(りゅうこうおく)れ (out of fashion)
general
Added 2026.3.8 18:39 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
15500/15771_furukusai