Breakdown of Το μπάνιο μυρίζει άσχημα όταν βουλώνει η ντουζιέρα, γι’ αυτό ανοίγω πάντα το παράθυρο.
πάντα
always
όταν
when
το παράθυρο
the window
ανοίγω
to open
Questions & Answers about Το μπάνιο μυρίζει άσχημα όταν βουλώνει η ντουζιέρα, γι’ αυτό ανοίγω πάντα το παράθυρο.
Why does μυρίζει mean smells here? Doesn’t μυρίζω also mean to smell in the sense of to sniff?
Yes. Μυρίζω can be used in two main ways:
- transitively: I smell/sniff something
- intransitively: something smells
In this sentence, Το μπάνιο μυρίζει άσχημα, it is the second meaning: The bathroom smells bad.
So Greek μυρίζω works a bit like English smell, which can also mean both give off a smell and use your nose to detect a smell.
Why is it μυρίζει άσχημα and not μυρίζει άσχημο?
Because άσχημα is an adverb here, not an adjective.
- άσχημος / άσχημη / άσχημο = ugly, bad, unpleasant (adjective)
- άσχημα = badly, unpleasantly (adverb)
Since it describes how the bathroom smells, Greek uses the adverb:
- μυρίζει άσχημα = it smells bad / unpleasant
This is very natural in Greek.
What exactly does άσχημα mean here? Is it literally ugly?