拳銃(けんじゅう)

けんじゅう
noun
handgun, pistol
1. handgun, pistol, revolver
A small firearm designed to be held and fired with one hand.
拳銃(けんじゅう)の所持(しょじ)は違法(いほう)だ。
Possessing a handgun is illegal.
犯人(はんにん)は拳銃(けんじゅう)を持(も)っていた。
The suspect was carrying a handgun.
警察(けいさつ)は不法(ふほう)に所持(しょじ)されていた拳銃(けんじゅう)を押収(おうしゅう)した。
The police seized the illegally possessed handgun.

拳銃(けんじゅう) is composed of 拳(けん) (fist) + 銃(じゅう) (gun) — literally a gun that fits in the fist.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 拳銃(けんじゅう)を所持(しょじ)する: to possess a handgun
  • 拳銃(けんじゅう)を発砲(はっぽう)する: to fire a handgun
  • 拳銃(けんじゅう)不法(ふほう)所持(しょじ): illegal possession of a firearm
  • けん銃(じゅう)強盗(ごうとう): armed robbery

CULTURAL NOTE: Japan has extremely strict gun control laws (銃刀法(じゅうとうほう)). Private ownership of firearms is nearly completely prohibited. The word appears frequently in crime news and detective fiction but rarely in everyday conversation.

general
Added 2026.3.11 19:34
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