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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "suspicious" in Japanese?
怪しい
ayashii
In Japanese, "suspicious" is 怪しい (ayashii).
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Pronunciation
Say ah-YAH-shee-ee, three light syllables ending in a held final vowel, don't clip the last ee too short.
Writing and usage
怪しい is written using kanji. It's a adjective, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
警備員はそのバッグに疑いを持ち始めた。
keibiin hasono baggu ni utagai wo mochi hajime ta.
The guard grew suspicious of the bag.
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How to remember 怪しい
Ayashii sounds like 'a, yashi', picture a suspicious yeti lurking behind a palm tree, watching you a little too closely.
Related words
- excited 興奮している koufun shiteiru
- thrilled とても興奮している totemo koufun shiteiru
- terrified 恐怖でいっぱいだ kyoufu deippaida
- shocked ショックを受けている shokku wo uke teiru
- disgusted 嫌悪感を抱いている ken'okan wo dai teiru
- sympathetic 共感的 kyoukan teki
- empathetic 共感的 kyoukan teki
- optimistic 楽観的だ rakukanteki da
- pessimistic 悲観的 hikanteki
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 怪しい
How do you pronounce 怪しい?
Say ah-YAH-shee-ee, three light syllables ending in a held final vowel, don't clip the last ee too short.
Is 怪しい formal or casual?
怪しい is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 怪しい written in Japanese?
怪しい is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as ayashii.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Suspicious" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
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