How to Say "offender" in Spanish
The most common Spanish word for “offender” is “criminal” — use 'criminal' when referring to someone who has committed a crime in a general sense, often in everyday conversation or news reporting..
criminal
kree-mee-NAHL/kɾimiˈnal/
Examples
El criminal escapó de la cárcel anoche.
The criminal escaped from jail last night.
La policía capturó a la criminal después de una larga búsqueda.
The police captured the female criminal after a long search.
Los criminales suelen operar de noche.
Criminals usually operate at night.
Gender Flexibility
When 'criminal' is a noun, the word itself doesn't change spelling, but you must change the article to match the person's gender: 'el criminal' (man) vs. 'la criminal' (woman).
Confusing 'Crimen' and 'Criminal'
Mistake: “Using 'el criminal' when you mean 'the crime'.”
Correction: Use 'el crimen' for the bad act and 'el criminal' for the person who did it.
delincuente
deh-leen-KWEHN-teh/de.linˈkwen.te/
Examples
La policía capturó al delincuente después del robo.
The police captured the criminal after the robbery.
La delincuente fue identificada por las cámaras de seguridad.
The female offender was identified by the security cameras.
Necesitamos reducir el número de jóvenes delincuentes en la ciudad.
We need to reduce the number of young offenders in the city.
One Form, Two Genders
This word is special because it looks the same whether you are talking about a man or a woman. The only thing that changes is the article (el or la): 'el delincuente' (male) and 'la delincuente' (female).
Don't Change the Ending
Mistake: “Using *delincuento* for a man or *delincuenta* for a woman.”
Correction: The ending is always '-ente'. Only change 'el' to 'la' to show the person's gender.
General vs. Legal Context
Related Translations
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