I need a little help

[Vikthor]

Hi,
My name is VIctor Cabanelas, I am an argentinian comicbook artist and I am doing a short story called "Assassin". I need to know what is the japanese word for "assassin", so if anyone can help me, I will be thankful.
:-)

[Glenn]

"Assassin" in Japanese is 暗殺者 (http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/search.php?MT=%B0%C5%BB%A6&je.x=34&je.y=14&je=%CF%C2%B1%D1&kind=ej&mode=0).

[Leroy_Brown]

Or more commonly "Koroshi-ya"


If a Yakuza boss says "Get me an assasin," he'd most likely say "Koroshi-ya o sagase."

[Glenn]

That's good to know. By the way, there is a difference between the two. Ansatsu-sha (http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/search.php?MT=%B0%C5%BB%A6&jn.x=17&jn.y=9&jn=%B9%F1%B8%EC&kind=jn&mode=0) is a person who kills mostly important people for political reasons, and koroshiya (http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/search.php?MT=%A4%B3%A4%ED%A4%B7%A4%E4&jn.x=17&jn.y=7&jn=%B9%F1%B8%EC&kind=je&mode=0) is a person who is paid to kill people. So pick whichever is closer to the meaning you want.

[Vikthor]

Hi, thanks for the help. I think I will use "Koroshi-ya", it is closest to the character. By the way, bot words have "sha" (or "ya"), does this mean anything in particular?
Just in case you are courious, here is the link for the pencils for the cover.
Thanks again,

[Glenn]

Sha is used to mean "one who does..." For example, ansatsu means "assassinate," so adding sha makes it "one who assassinates," or "assassin." It is used to show that the action being taken is somewhat visceral; i.e., it isn't a profession. More on this distinction can be found at 投手と打者 (http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/language/yakyu.html) (in Japanese).

I'm not so sure about the use of ya to mark a doer. That's something that I'll have to look into, but it has the same overall function here.

[jt_]

Sha is used to mean "one who does..." For example, ansatsu means "assassinate," so adding sha makes it "one who assassinates," or "assassin." It is used to show that the action being taken is somewhat visceral; i.e., it isn't a profession. More on this distinction can be found at 投手と打者 (http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/language/yakyu.html) (in Japanese).That was a fascinating article. It's a subject I hadn't really given much thought to before, but that explanation makes a lot of sense. Thanks for pointing this one out.

I'm not so sure about the use of ya to mark a doer. That's something that I'll have to look into, but it has the same overall function here.Try here (http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/search.php?MT=%B2%B0&kind=jn&mode=0&base=21) (in particular definitions 2-2 and 2-3).

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Representative comics of a killer. :bluush:
It is "Crying Freeman" that recommend by comics of a killer. :cool:
http://www.koike-shoin.co.jp/

[Vikthor]

Ooops! I forgot to add the link :sorry:

Here we go again (click on the image to enlarge):

Inked cover (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/15619131/)

Pencils for page 1 (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/15922027/)

Thank you all again,

[lexico]

Woh! The eye is a real killer! He's got the chilling koroshi-ya eye! It reminds me of Moby Dick's!

[Leroy_Brown]

I'm not so sure about the use of ya to mark a doer. That's something that I'll have to look into, but it has the same overall function here.

"ya" in koroshi-ya basically has the same meaning as the "ya" in sakana-ya, niku-ya, etc. Someone who specializes in a thing or service. In fact, it's the same Kanji.

I was once on a train in Japan at the very first station, i.e., terminal, waiting for the train to get going. A young mother and little girl were sitting nearby. The girl asked the mother "Shuppatsu-ya-san wa itsu kuruno?" Meaning "when is the conductor coming to start the train?" Since "shuppatsu" is to begin a trip, the girl, in a baby-talk, added the "ya" and "san" to refer to the conductor of the train. :cute:

It was so cute. That girl is old enough now to be a mother herself.

[Vikthor]

Woh! The eye is a real killer! He's got the chilling koroshi-ya eye! It reminds me of Moby Dick's!

And he is the good guy!!

Thank you for your coment, Lexico.

Here is page 2 (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/15955193/)

[Glenn]

"ya" in koroshi-ya basically has the same meaning as the "ya" in sakana-ya, niku-ya, etc. Someone who specializes in a thing or service. In fact, it's the same Kanji.

Right, but this is the only time I've ever seen it added to an infinitive-form verb. It just threw me a bit. I wondered if maybe it had some special nuance to it when used with verbs, or if it could be thrown onto any verb, like 釣り屋 (apparently not, because the IME wouldn't give it to me; I had to "trick" it). So is 殺し屋 just an exception, or are there others like it?

[Leroy_Brown]

Right, but this is the only time I've ever seen it added to an infinitive-form verb. It just threw me a bit. I wondered if maybe it had some special nuance to it when used with verbs, or if it could be thrown onto any verb, like 釣り屋 (apparently not, because the IME wouldn't give it to me; I had to "trick" it). So is 殺し屋 just an exception, or are there others like it?

Good question, grasshopper.

The infinitive verb "to kill" would be 殺su

殺し is actually a noun based on the verb, i.e., a gerund, "killing" or "murder".


That's why it's 殺し屋 and not 殺su屋.

:bow:

[Glenn]

Slight terminology miscommunication here: I meant the linguistic infinitive (http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/message/jpnF7dYwv_c.html). I'm sure I've seen the "pre-masu" or "verb stem" called "infinitive" before elsewhere, too. Now I'm starting to doubt it, though. We need ToMach to clear this one up. Bah, I thought using that might cause trouble; should have just stuck with "Vmasu" or something. Anyway, the question remains, confusing terminology aside. :relief::blush:

[Edit] This site (http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/s_jgrammar.html) corroborates my claim, although it does also say that shisetsu is "novel," when it should be shousetsu.

Dictionary Stem Infinitive Meaning
kaku kak- kaki- to write
iku ik- iki- to go
yomu yom- yomi- to read
matsu mat- machi- to wait
hanasu hanas- hanashi- to speak
omou omo- omoi- to believe

On the -u/-ru form, this page (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2803/ProtoLanguage-JapaneseFormants.htm) says that it's the "imperfect."

1. The Japanese imperfect verbal form ending is -u after consonantal stems, and -ru after vowel stems;

a. This form is called by some grammars the "present tense" (Shibatani 1996: "conclusive/attributive") because it indicates that an action has not been successfully completed; this is the classic definition of the imperfective.

b. The alternate form, -ru, is the result of a shortening of áru, "be at, exist", in its imperfective form.

c. Japanese -u is the residue of a reduction of -*wa, which represents PL F/F[H]A.

d. Exx.: Ano ko wa yoku hon o yomu, "that child reads well"; sonna hon wa yomu na, "do not read such (a) book(s)!"

Anyway, I just wanted to illustrate what I meant, and show that I didn't pull it out of thin air. :relief:

[Leroy_Brown]

Bars and other places where you can drink are called "Nomi-ya". But that's more of a slang than standard terminology