泥臭(どろくさ)い

どろくさい
i-adjective
unrefined; rustic; unsophisticated; gritty
informaldescriptive
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present泥臭(どろくさ)い泥臭(どろくさ)くない
Past泥臭(どろくさ)かった泥臭(どろくさ)くなかった
て form泥臭(どろくさ)くて泥臭(どろくさ)くなくて
Adverbial泥臭(どろくさ)く—
Conditional ば泥臭(どろくさ)ければ泥臭(どろくさ)くなければ
Conditional たら泥臭(どろくさ)かったら泥臭(どろくさ)くなかったら
1. smelling of mud; muddy-smelling
Literally having the smell of mud or earth, as with freshwater fish or unwashed vegetables.
この魚(さかな)は泥臭(どろくさ)い。
This fish smells muddy.
川(かわ)で釣(つ)った魚(さかな)は泥臭(どろくさ)いことがある。
Fish caught in rivers can sometimes have a muddy smell.
泥臭(どろくさ)さを取(と)るために牛乳(ぎゅうにゅう)に漬(つ)けておく。
Soak it in milk to remove the muddy smell.
2. unrefined; rustic; unsophisticated; rough around the edges
Figuratively, lacking polish or elegance. Can be used critically to mean crude, or positively to mean earnest and down-to-earth.
泥臭(どろくさ)いやり方(かた)だ。
It's an unrefined way of doing things.
泥臭(どろくさ)い営業(えいぎょう)スタイルが彼(かれ)の持(も)ち味(あじ)だ。
His gritty sales style is his strong point.
スマートではないが、泥臭(どろくさ)い努力(どりょく)が最後(さいご)には実(みの)を結(むす)んだ。
It wasn't elegant, but the unglamorous hard work bore fruit in the end.

Usage

泥臭(どろくさ)い is an i-adjective combining 泥(どろ) (mud) and 臭(くさ)い (smelling of). The figurative sense (sense 2) can be either negative (crude, unsophisticated) or positive (earnest, gritty, down-to-earth), depending on context.

Common collocations

Similar words

野暮(やぼ)ったい means unfashionable or unsophisticated in appearance or taste. 泥臭(どろくさ)い emphasizes a raw, unpolished quality that can imply hard work and persistence.

general
Added 2026.3.9 19:27 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
16000/16046_dorokusai