人ひと斬きり

ひ

と

き

り

Meanings

Refers to the act of killing a person with a blade, or the person who does it. Often used in historical or dramatic contexts, especially for sword-wielding assassins.

彼かれは幕ばく末まつの有ゆう名めいな人ひと斬きりとして知しられている。
He is known as a famous assassin from the end of the Edo period.
その事じ件けんは人ひと斬きりによるものだと噂うわさされた。
It was rumored that the incident was an assassination.

Kanji

人person
斬beheading, kill, murder
切cut, cutoff, be sharp

Related words

暗あん殺さつ
暗殺 is a more formal and general term for assassination, not limited to blade weapons. 人斬り specifically implies killing with a sword or blade, often with a historical or dramatic connotation.
殺さつ人じん
殺人 is the legal/general term for murder or homicide. 人斬り is more specific to killing by cutting and carries a stronger image of a sword-wielding killer.

Built from

人ひと+斬きる

Written forms

人ひと斬きりUsage95%
Standard kanji spelling. 斬り carries a nuance of cutting or slashing a person.
人ひと切きりUsage5%
Alternative spelling using 切る. Less common but still encountered.

Etymology

Compound of 人 (ひと, person) and 斬り (きり, cutting), the nominalized form of 斬る (きる, to cut with a blade). The spelling 斬り emphasizes cutting with a sword or similar weapon.