殺 人(さつじん)事 件(じけん)

さつじんじけん

noun

murder case; homicide

1. murder case; homicide incident

A killing treated as a criminal incident — the standard term in news reports, police statements, and crime fiction. Refers to the case or incident, not to the act in the abstract.

殺人(さつじん)事件(じけん)が起(お)きた。

A murder occurred.

警察(けいさつ)は殺人(さつじん)事件(じけん)として捜査(そうさ)を始(はじ)めた。

The police began investigating it as a murder case.

三十年(さんじゅうねん)前(まえ)の殺人(さつじん)事件(じけん)が、新(あたら)しい証拠(しょうこ)によってようやく解決(かいけつ)した。

A murder case from thirty years ago was finally solved thanks to new evidence.

News style uses 事件(じけん) for crimes and 事故(じこ) for accidents, so the choice of word already tells listeners that a crime is suspected.

Common collocations

殺人(さつじん)事件(じけん)が起(お)きる: a murder occurs
殺人(さつじん)事件(じけん)を捜査(そうさ)する: to investigate a murder case
殺人(さつじん)事件(じけん)の容疑者(ようぎしゃ): a suspect in a murder case
未解決(みかいけつ)の殺人(さつじん)事件(じけん): an unsolved murder case

Similar words

殺人(さつじん): murder, homicide — the act or the crime itself, without the "case" framing
殺人(さつじん)未遂(みすい): attempted murder — where the victim survives
事件(じけん): incident, case — the general word for a criminal or newsworthy occurrence

Related Words

Compare: 殺人未遂(さつじんみすい) (attempted murder)

Compare: 連続殺人(れんぞくさつじん) (serial murder)

general

Added 2026.8.5 9:20 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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