I’m curious about the prevalence of the term 男臭い. According to various dictionaries, the phrase/word refers to the odor of masculinity, or the smell of men (usually in a negative sense). At the same time, these dictionaries also list a secondary definition for the term as relating to masculinity or a “macho” or “manly” attitude or posturing in any capacity.
In the Japanese language, is it common to use 男臭い to refer to general masculinity – not in a psychological or profound or even professional way, but rather in a crude or basic “bro” kind of way? Or is it considered a negative word that is mostly used to refer to bad body odor or the smell of an unshowered dude?
I actually kind of like the term and it seems very “Japanese” to me that they would associate masculinity with the “smell of men” in a vocabulary word like this, but I don’t want to use it if that secondary definition is uncommon or is perhaps more literary than anything else.
Generally speaking 臭い is a negative word. It is a bad smell.
男臭い is not a neutral word for masculinity, from what I’ve heard from natives. It’s not objectively negative, because that would depend on your opinions of masculinity, but it is an emphasis on the harsher, wilder aspects of masculinity.
男らしい is more neutral a term and includes all aspects of masculinity.
男性的 strikes me as the most neutral, but I didn’t ask anyone about that.
This is super late of me, but better late than never – thanks so much for your reply! I figured that 男臭い as a metaphor would speak to the “harsher, wilder aspects of masculinity” as you put it – I just didn’t know if this was considered a rude word to use. But best to be safe and use 男らしい I suppose.
