Translation guide
How to refer to a person who has committed an offense, crime, or wrongdoing in Japanese, depending on context, formality, and legal status.
Referring to someone who has committed a crime, especially in legal or formal contexts.
The most direct and common term for a criminal or offender in legal and general contexts.
彼は犯罪者として逮捕された。
He was arrested as an offender.
Refers to the perpetrator or culprit of a specific crime. Often used in news or police contexts.
犯人はまだ捕まっていない。
The offender hasn't been caught yet.
A more literary or old-fashioned term for a sinner or criminal. Can carry moral or religious connotations.
彼は罪人として裁かれた。
He was judged as an offender.
Referring to someone who violates rules, norms, or causes trouble, not necessarily a criminal.
Used for someone who breaks rules, regulations, or laws, such as traffic violations or school rules.
交通違反者は罰金を払わなければならない。
Traffic offenders must pay a fine.
Specifically the perpetrator or offender in a context of harm or damage, such as bullying or accidents. Contrasts with 被害者 (victim).
Colloquial term for a bad person or villain. Can be used for an offender in a non-legal, moral sense, often in stories or casual speech.
Referring to someone who repeatedly commits offenses.
A habitual or repeat offender. Commonly used in legal and news contexts.
彼は窃盗の常習犯だ。
He is a repeat offender for theft.
A legal term for a repeat offender, emphasizing the accumulation of offenses. More technical than 常習犯.
Referring specifically to a person who has committed a sexual offense.
Standard term for a sex offender. Used in legal, news, and formal contexts.
その地域には性犯罪者が住んでいる。
A sex offender lives in that area.
Referring to someone who has committed an offense for the first time.
A first-time offender. Often used in legal contexts when discussing sentencing.
初犯者だから執行猶予がついた。
Because he's a first-time offender, he got a suspended sentence.
犯罪者 (はんざいしゃ) is a general term for a criminal or offender, while 犯人 (はんにん) specifically refers to the perpetrator of a particular crime. Use 犯人 when talking about 'who did it' in a specific incident.
警察は犯人を探している。
The police are looking for the offender (culprit).
彼は犯罪者だが、この事件の犯人ではない。
He is a criminal, but not the offender in this case.
In English, 'offender' can be used lightly (e.g., 'parking offender'). In Japanese, directly translating to 犯罪者 may sound too strong. Use 違反者 for rule violations, or rephrase with a verb like 違反する.
駐車違反をした。
I was a parking offender. (lit. I committed a parking violation.)
The offenders in the bullying case were identified.
あの話では、彼が悪者だ。
In that story, he's the offender.
累犯者に対する刑罰は重くなる。
Penalties become harsher for repeat offenders.