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Questions & Answers about Das Fleisch riecht komisch.
The English translation says the meat smells 'funny'. Why use komisch instead of lustig?
In German, komisch frequently means 'strange', 'weird', or 'peculiar', just like 'funny' can mean 'funny peculiar' in English. If you wanted to say something makes you laugh, you would use lustig or witzig.
If the meat smelled absolutely disgusting instead of just weird, what common -haft adjective could we use here?
You would use ekelhaft (disgusting or revolting). The noun is der Ekel (disgust), and adding the suffix -haft turns it into an adjective describing something that provokes disgust. You would say: Das Fleisch riecht ekelhaft.
How could we use a -mäßig adjective to say 'Smell-wise, the meat is weird'?
You could use geruchsmäßig (smell-wise or regarding the smell). The suffix -mäßig is often attached to nouns to mean 'in terms of'. So you could rephrase this as: Geruchsmäßig ist das Fleisch komisch.
Does the verb riechen always describe the subject emitting a smell, or can it also mean the action of smelling something?
It can mean both! Just like in English, riechen can mean to emit an odor (as in this sentence) or to actively sniff something. For example, Ich rieche an dem Fleisch means 'I am smelling the meat'.