chủ phạm

Definitions

Noun:
- Principal offender; main perpetrator: The person who is primarily responsible for planning, organizing, or directly committing a crime or wrongdoing. This term is primarily used in legal and formal contexts to distinguish the main culprit from accomplices or accessories.
- Ringleader: The leader or chief instigator of a group involved in illegal or harmful activities.

Usage Examples

Noun:
- Cảnh sát đã bắt được chủ phạm trong vụ cướp ngân hàng. (The police have arrested the principal offender in the bank robbery.)
- Trong vụ án này, hắn ta được xác định là chủ phạm. (In this case, he was identified as the main perpetrator.)
- Chủ phạm của vụ lừa đảo đã thú tội. (The ringleader of the fraud scheme has confessed.)

Advanced Usage

"kẻ chủ phạm": This is a more emphatic form, literally "the one who is the principal offender," often used in news reports or formal accusations to underscore culpability.
- Kẻ chủ phạm đã bị kết án tù chung thân. (The principal culprit was sentenced to life imprisonment.)

Variants and Related Words

Đồng phạm (n): Accomplice; a person who helps another commit a crime but is not the main perpetrator.
Tòng phạm (n): Accessory; a person who assists in or contributes to the commission of a crime, often in a secondary role.
Thủ phạm (n): Perpetrator; a more general term for the person who carries out a harmful, illegal, or immoral act. It can sometimes be used interchangeably with "chủ phạm," though "chủ phạm" more strongly implies primary responsibility.

Synonyms

Related Phrases/Idioms

"Truy bắt chủ phạm": To hunt down/apprehend the principal offender.
- Lực lượng an ninh đang nỗ lực truy bắt chủ phạm. (The security forces are making efforts to hunt down the principal offender.)
"Chỉ mặt đặt tên chủ phạm": To point out and name the principal offender directly; to publicly identify the main culprit.
- Bài báo đã chỉ mặt đặt tên chủ phạm của vụ bê bối. (The article pointed out and named the principal offender in the scandal.)