Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 殺人者 | satsujinsha | [sa̠t͡sɨʑĩɰ̃ɕa̠] (narrow) |
| キラー | kirā | [kʲiɾa̠ː] (narrow) |
| 人殺し | hitogoroshi | [çito̞ɡo̞ɾo̞ɕi] (narrow) |
All three forms refer to a person who kills, but they are used in very different contexts. 殺人者 is a term that explicitly denotes someone who has committed a homicide. キラー is a loanword from English used for pop culture references or nicknames. 人殺し is a common way to refer to a murderer in daily life.
Which one should you use?
殺人者 is a formal, clinical or legalistic term. In contrast, 人殺し is more common in everyday speech and carries a stronger emotional or accusatory tone. キラー is used primarily in specific contexts like video game character titles, nicknames or certain media tropes rather than in legal or standard descriptive Japanese.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
殺人者 is a formal term. 人殺し is used in common, everyday speech. キラー is an informal loanword used in casual conversations or pop culture.
How does it change in a sentence?
The term 人殺し can function as both a noun (a murderer) and an adjective-like modifier (a killer person) when used in certain sentence structures.
How do you pronounce it?
satsujinsha
Did you know?
- The English loanword キラー is often stripped of its sinister meaning to describe something highly effective, such as a 'killer' feature in a product.
- While キラー is used for fiction, Japanese has specific loanwords for 'serial killer' シリアルキラー and 'hitman' ヒットマン that are rarely replaced by the traditional terms.
- In the word 人殺し, the spelling changes from 'koroshi' to 'goroshi' due to a linguistic phenomenon called 'rendaku'.
Examples in context
- トムが人殺しだとは思えないよ。I don't think that Tom is the killer.This sentence is useful for expressing disbelief that someone is the 人殺し.Tatoeba #10557852 by small_snow, translation #7537839 by CK
- 警察は殺人者を逮捕しました。The police arrested a killer.
- その殺人者はまだ捕まっていない。Sono satsujinsha wa mada tsukamatte inai.That killer has not been caught yet.
- 殺人者の正体が判明した。Satsujinsha no shōtai ga hanmei shita.The killer's true identity has been revealed.
Example conversation
Misaki and Yota are talking about a crime movie.
- 美咲 Misakiこの映画の殺人者は誰だと思う？Kono eiga no satsujinsha wa dare da to omou?Who do you think the killer is in this movie?
- 陽太 Yotaたぶん、あの料理人じゃないかな。Tabun, ano ryōrinin janai kana.Maybe it's that chef.
- 美咲 Misakiえっ、あの人が殺人者なの？Eh, ano hito ga satsujinsha nano?What, that person is the killer?
- 陽太 Yota最後まで見ていればわかるよ。Saigo made mite ireba wakaru yo.You'll find out if you watch until the end.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “killer” translations and entries 殺人者, キラー, 人殺し, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries キラー, 人殺し, 殺人者, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
