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元凶 (げんきょう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

元げん凶きょう

げ

ん

きょ

う

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

ringleader; main culprit

Refers to the person primarily responsible for a crime, plot, or wrongdoing.

警けい察さつは事じ件けんの元げん凶きょうを逮たい捕ほした。
The police arrested the ringleader of the incident.

2

noun

Used for the fundamental cause of a problem, disaster, or undesirable situation.

環かん境きょう破は壊かいの元げん凶きょうは人にん間げんの活かつ動どうだ。
The main cause of environmental destruction is human activity.

Written forms

元げん凶きょうUsage98%
Standard modern spelling.
元げん兇きょうUsage2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kyūjitai form.

Kanji

元beginning, former time, origin
凶villain, evil, bad luck
兇wickedness

Similar words

原げん因いん
原因 is a general word for 'cause', while 元凶 emphasizes the fundamental or root cause, often with a negative connotation.
主しゅ犯はん
主犯 specifically means 'principal offender' in a legal/criminal context, whereas 元凶 can be used more broadly for any ringleader or root cause.

Etymology

Compound of 元 (げん, 'origin') and 凶 (きょう, 'evil, misfortune'). The spelling 元兇 is the kyūjitai form of 凶.