משטרה \ מִשְׁטָרָה
mishtaráfeminine
The word for police in Hebrew is משטרה \ מִשְׁטָרָה (mishtará), written משטרה without vowel marks and מִשְׁטָרָה with them.
משטרה is the law enforcement agency, the police as an organization. A police station is תחנת משטרה. A police officer is שוטר.
Meaning: local or general law enforcement agency (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
משטרה is a feminine singular noun. To say the police of a place or body, use the construct form משטרת. The adjective for police matters in the masculine plural is משטרתיים.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as mishtará, with the stress on the last syllable.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often use a plural verb with police. In Hebrew משטרה is singular, so it takes singular verbs and feminine singular adjectives.
Did you know?
- The word for 'police' was a deliberate invention by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the father of modern Hebrew, who built it from the root of the word for 'officer'.
- While משטרה refers to the police force, the word משטר refers to a political regime or system of governance.
- In Israel, people often use the slang term ניידת meaning 'mobile unit' to refer to the police car itself, rather than using the full term ניידת משטרה.
Examples in context
- ברוך הבא לתחנת המשטרה. איך אני יכול לעזור לך?Welcome to the police station. How can I assist you?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “police” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries משטרה, CC BY-SA 4.0.
