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Could someone help me understand when which kanji is used? For example I have
seen 臭い on a packet of cat sand. I can't remember where I've seen the other
but I found the following example sentence on
[jisho.org](http://jisho.org/sentences?jap=%E8%87%AD%E3%81%84):

> 臭いをたどってみよう。

It's translated as "I should follow my nose."

At first I suspected that 臭い【におい】 is used for undesirable smell and 匂い【におい】 is
used for good smell but the example above seems to contradict my little
theory.
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2014-11-09T23:03:14.900
19449
2014-11-10T00:44:20.683
2014-11-10T00:44:20.683
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question
meaning kanji homophonic-kanji
Kanji for におい - when do you use 匂い and when do you use 臭い?
Yes you are right, 匂い and 香り is always for good smells like from flowers,
food, etc, whereas 臭い is mostly for undesirable smells. But sometimes 臭い is
neutral, which case I think your example falls into.

BTW that jisho.org page you cited seems to be a little confusing, because it
lists [臭]{にお}い (noun) and [臭]{くさ}い (adjective) jumbled together. So, just be
careful!
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2014-11-10T00:21:06.150
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2014-11-10T00:21:06.150
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answer