How to say "assassin" in Japanese

• 刺客しかく
  nounAn assassin; the word often suggests a killer sent against a political or other prominent figure, and it has a literary ring that suits historical narratives of political killings.
• アサシン
  nounA loanword matching the English word directly; it turns up mainly in games, fiction, and translated titles, or in reference to the historical Assassins, so it is seldom what ordinary prose needs.
• 凶手きょうしゅ
  nounA rare word that in practice means a murderer or violent culprit rather than an assassin in the usual sense; it is seldom the word you want here.
• 暗殺者あんさつしゃ
  nounThe straightforward, neutral term for a person who assassinates; it covers political assassins and fictional killers alike and is usually the safest choice.
  マーテイン・ルーサー・キング・ジュニアは暗殺者あんさつしゃの凶弾きょうだんで命いのちを落おとしたのである。↗

  Martin Luther King, Jr., a man of peace, was killed by an assassin's bullet.
• 人斬りひときり
  nounLiterally 'one who cuts people down': an assassin who kills with a blade, evoking the sword-wielding killers of the samurai era; it can also refer to the killing itself.

Choose 暗殺者 as the neutral, general term for an assassin; 刺客 often suggests a political or historical killer, 「アサシン」 appears mainly in games and fiction, 「人斬り」 evokes samurai-era swordsmen, and 凶手 really means murderer.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 刺客しかくassassin
• アサシンassassin
• 凶手きょうしゅassassin
• 暗殺者あんさつしゃassassin
• 人斬りひときりassassination
• 凶漢きょうかんvillain