1.
the real culprit; the true perpetrator
The person who actually committed a crime, as opposed to someone wrongly suspected or falsely accused.
真犯人はまだ捕まっていない。
The real culprit has not yet been caught.
新たな証拠が真犯人を指し示した。
New evidence pointed to the true criminal.
無実の人が疑われている間に、真犯人は逃げてしまった。
While an innocent person was under suspicion, the real culprit got away.
Compound of the prefix 真 (true, real) + 犯人 (criminal, culprit). The 真 contrasts the actual offender with a suspect or scapegoat, so the word is common in mysteries and crime reporting.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 真犯人を捕まえる: to catch the real culprit
- 真犯人が判明する: the true criminal comes to light
- 真犯人は別にいる: the real culprit is someone else
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 容疑者: suspect — someone suspected, not yet proven guilty
- 犯人: culprit; offender — the general word, without the "as opposed to a suspect" nuance