Crimes and offenders with 犯
The kanji 犯 means to commit an offense or to violate a boundary.
In modern Japanese it appears most often in words about crimes, offenders, and illegal acts. When it comes after another word, 犯 often labels the person who committed that kind of offense, as in murderer, kidnapper, or habitual offender.
Etymology
This kanji is a phono-semantic compound comprised of 犭 / 犬 (dog) as the semantic component and 𢎘, later written in the changed form 㔾, as the phonetic component providing the reading ハン. It originally meant a dog breaking through a fence, and the meaning extends to describing conduct that goes beyond one’s proper bounds.
Criminal Acts
犯罪 (Crime)
犯罪 means crime or criminal offense in general. It names the act or category of wrongdoing rather than the person who did it.
It combines 犯 (offense) with 罪 (guilt) to show a guilty offense.
A classmate shows off her new satchel from Meisho Daichi High School. Ran wants one for herself, so she heads down to Shibuya in search of a Meisho Daichi student who’ll give her one. She accidentally steals one, which she later ruminates on in her room. As she talks to herself about how her pride cannot abide stealing, her police officer parents burst into her room, asking what was stolen and who the suspect is.
- 蘭:
- 「何でもないって！！ びっくりさせんなよ もーーーー！」
- “It's nothing!! Don't scare me like that! Seriously!!”
- 泰三:
- 「そ そうか スマン スマン…」
- “Oh... okay. Sorry, sorry...”
- 清香:
- 「犯罪のニオイがするとつい…ね」
- “When I smell a crime, I just can't help myself...”
犯行 (Criminal act)
犯行 means the act of committing a crime, especially a specific deed carried out by a culprit. It often appears with details such as the time, place, motive, or method of the act.
It combines 犯 (offense) with 行 (act) to show a criminal act.
Following a murder made to look like an accidental death, Conan reviews the whereabouts of the four suspects at the time.
- コナン:
- 「犯行可能時にあの四人の中でアリバイが成立しているのは…」
- “Among those four, the one with an established alibi during the time the crime could have been committed is...”
- 「あの人だた一人…」
- “...that person alone...”
- “Among those four, the one with an established alibi during the time the crime could have been committed is...”
Legal Roles
共犯 (Accomplice)
共犯 means complicity, joint criminal responsibility, or someone who is in on the offense. In casual speech it can be used playfully for sharing blame in a rule-breaking situation.
It combines 共 (together) with 犯 (offense) to show committing a crime together.
Yacchin eats little and dislikes many foods, so his friend Takeo helps by eating the parts of his lunch he doesn’t like. A teacher catches sight of this and yells at them not to give or take food from one another. When the coast is clear, Takeo continues, only to be sighted and punished by the teacher. Yacchin goes up to the teacher afterward.
- やっちん:
- 「あの… さっきは猛男くんひとりが悪いみたいになったんですけどオレも共犯です…」
- “Um... It seemed like Takeo was the only one at fault just now, but I was in on it too...”
Offenders
犯人 (Criminal)
犯人 means the criminal, culprit, or person who committed an offense. It is common in mystery, police, and everyday blame contexts.
It combines 犯 (offense) with 人 (person) to show the person who committed the crime.
In a snow-covered mountain villa, a room full of suspects listen as Detective Mouri explains how their host was murdered. The accused notes she has a receipt showing she was at the convenience store at the bottom of the mountain when the murder took place.
- 中原:
- 「それにまだ金澤先生のアリバイもあやふやよ！！」
- “Moreover, Mr. Kanazawa's alibi is also vague!”
- 「私だけを犯人扱いしないでよ！！」
- “Don't treat only me as the suspect!”
- “Moreover, Mr. Kanazawa's alibi is also vague!”