確信犯

• 読み: かくしんはん
• ローマ字: kakushinhan
• 漢字の分解: 確 (kaku) — certain, sure; 信 (shin) — believe, trust; 犯 (han) — crime, offender
• 発音: /ka.kɯ.ɕiɴ.haɴ/

意味

Crime of conscience; conviction offender. Originally a person who commits a crime based on political or moral conviction.

A noun with a notable gap between its original legal meaning and modern colloquial usage. Originally (and still formally) refers to someone who commits a crime believing it is morally or politically justified — a 'conviction criminal.' However, in everyday modern Japanese, it is widely used to mean someone who knowingly and deliberately does something wrong or mischievous, fully aware of the consequences. This semantic shift is so common that many dictionaries now include both meanings.

例文

1. 彼は確信犯的にルールを無視した。
2. あの政治家は確信犯として批判された。
3. 彼女のいたずらは完全に確信犯だった。

使い方ガイド

場面: law, daily conversation, media

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From German legal term Überzeugungsverbrecher (conviction criminal), translated into Japanese during the Meiji-Taisho era: 確信 (kakushin, conviction/certainty) + 犯 (han, crime/offender). The shift from 'ideological criminal' to 'deliberate wrongdoer' occurred gradually in postwar Japan.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal