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In a TV show I am watching (孤独のグルメ, perhaps many of you have heard of it) the
gentleman is about to drink some coffee but pauses to savour the aroma. He
says

> いい かおり だ

Which I translate as "good aroma". Am I right in saying that におい is simply
"smell"?

So perhaps

> 台所から においに来ています a smell is coming from the kitchen

and

> 台所から かおりに来ています an aroma is coming from the kitchen

(this may not be correct Japanese, please correct me)

So in example #2 it is implied there is a nice smell like food is cooking
("aroma") but in example #1 something could be burning or rotting.
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2014-05-01T17:31:11.557
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2019-11-30T02:39:05.040
2019-11-30T02:39:05.040
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question
meaning word-choice usage nuances
Difference between かおり and におい
Yes, `におい` is just "a smell". It is in fact neutral, but without `いい` in front
of it, I usually perceive it as a bad one (as I also do with "smell" in
English). Like if you say, "What a smell!" in English, I think most people
would take this to mean a bad smell rather than a good one.

Also, to say "smells" or "producing a smell", the form is におい・かおり **が** する.

>   * 台所はにおいがしています。 → A smell is coming from the kitchen.
>   * 台所はかおりがしています。 → An aroma/good smell is coming from the kitchen.
>

Note that you will often hear `いいかおり` even though it's kind of redundant.
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2014-05-01T17:47:27.520
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2014-05-01T17:53:09.623
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answer