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凶手 (きょうしゅ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

凶きょう手しゅ

きょ

う

しゅ

Meanings

1

noun

assassin; murderer

Refers to a person who commits murder, especially a hired or political killer. A somewhat formal or literary term.

その政せい治じ家かは凶きょう手しゅに襲おそわれた。
The politician was attacked by an assassin.
事じ件けんの凶きょう手しゅはまだ捕つかまっていない。
The murderer in the case has not been caught yet.

Written forms

凶きょう手しゅ
Standard kanji spelling.
兇きょう手しゅUsage100%
Variant using the older 兇 character; less common in modern usage.

Kanji

凶villain, evil, bad luck
手hand
兇

wickedness

Similar words

暗あん殺さつ者しゃ
暗殺者 is a more common and direct word for 'assassin', while 凶手 is more literary and can also mean 'murderer' in a broader sense.
殺さつ人じん犯はん
殺人犯 is the standard legal term for 'murderer', whereas 凶手 carries a more dramatic or old-fashioned nuance.

Etymology

凶 (bad, evil) + 手 (hand, person). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the compound suggests 'evil hand' or 'person who commits a violent act'.