How do I read 殺す者?

Question

From a light novel I currently read [小鬼を殺す者]. Is it 'ころすもの' or 'ころすしゃ' and how do I know what to take...for future usage.^^

Thank You in Advance

Answer 1

It literally means "a person who kills goblins" or "goblin-killing person", hence "Goblin Killer/Slayer". This 者 is read もの. 者 is read as しゃ only in larger on-yomi compounds (e.g. 筆者【ひっしゃ】 "author", 保護者【ほごしゃ】 "guardian").

• 小鬼【こおに】: "goblin" (Other translations are possible, but I'm assuming you're reading Goblin Slayer)
• を: the direct object marker
• 殺す【ころす】: "kill"
• 者【もの】: "person"

This is a simplest example of Japanese relative clauses. 小鬼を殺す ("goblin-killing") is modifying 者 ("person") as a relative clause.