捜 査 官(そうさかん)

そうさかん

noun

investigator; criminal investigator

1. investigator; criminal investigator; agent

An official whose job is investigating crimes — a detective, a prosecutor's investigator, or an agent of a foreign agency such as the FBI. It is the formal, institutional word, common in news reports and crime fiction.

捜査官(そうさかん)が現場(げんば)に入(はい)った。

Investigators entered the scene.

ベテランの捜査官(そうさかん)が事件(じけん)を担当(たんとう)している。

A veteran investigator is handling the case.

捜査官(そうさかん)たちは防犯(ぼうはん)カメラの映像(えいぞう)を一日中(いちにちじゅう)調(しら)べ続(つづ)けた。

The investigators kept going through the security camera footage all day long.

From 捜査(そうさ) (criminal investigation) plus the suffix 官(かん), which marks a public official (警察官(けいさつかん), 外交官(がいこうかん), 裁判官(さいばんかん)).

Common collocations

捜査官(そうさかん)を派遣(はけん)する: to send in investigators
麻薬(まやく)捜査官(そうさかん): narcotics agent
潜入(せんにゅう)捜査官(そうさかん): undercover investigator
ベテラン捜査官(そうさかん): veteran investigator

Similar words

刑事(けいじ): detective — the everyday word for a police detective, used in speech far more often
警察官(けいさつかん): police officer — any officer, not specifically one who investigates
探偵(たんてい): private detective — works for clients, not the state

Related Words

Compare: 刑事(けいじ) (detective)

Compare: 警察官(けいさつかん) (police officer)

Compare: 探偵(たんてい) (private detective)

general

Added 2026.8.22 21:17 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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