경찰
gyeongchal[ˈkjɘ(ː)ŋt͡ɕʰa̠ɭ]
The English word 'police' is 경찰 (gyeongchal) in Korean.
경찰 is used to refer to the police as a collective institution or a general law enforcement agency. If you are referring specifically to a physical building or a police station, you should use 경찰서 instead.
Meaning: local or general law enforcement agency (noun)
Which one should you use?
While 경찰 refers to the police as an institution or a collective body, the term 경찰관 is used when referring to an individual police officer. Additionally, when you want to speak about a police station as a location, use 경찰서.
How does it change in a sentence?
Use 경찰 for the collective institution, but use 경찰관 when the subject is an individual officer.
How do you pronounce it?
gyeongchal
Did you know?
- When calling for help, instead of shouting 'police', people often shout 살려주세요 (sal-lyeo-ju-se-yo), which means 'please save me'.
- The characters used to write 경찰 in Hanja mean 'to warn' and 'to examine', reflecting the dual nature of the police's role in prevention and investigation.
- The modern term 경찰 was originally borrowed from the Japanese pronunciation of the same characters, 警察, during the early 20th century.
Examples in context
- 경찰이 너를 찾고 있다The police are looking for you.This sentence shows how to use 경찰 to state that the police are looking for someone.Tatoeba #9803426 by ST_Young, translation #3917535 by CK
- 왜 경찰서에 가지 않았어?Why didn't you go to the police?This sentence uses 경찰 to ask about going to the police.Tatoeba #8356282 by Eunhee, translation #2852252 by CK
- 경찰은 시신을 찾지 못했다.Police didn't discover the body.This sentence demonstrates the use of 경찰 when stating that the police did not find a body.Tatoeba #6179275 by imjcooper, translation #6178041 by OsoHombre
- 저기 경찰관님, 제발 도와주세요.Excuse me, police officer, please help.
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Seoyeon and Hyunwoo are talking about a traffic accident they saw.
- 서연 Seo-yeon방금 경찰이 도착했어요.banggeum gyeongchal-i dochak-haesseoyo.The police just arrived.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo정말 다행이네요.jeongmal dahaeng-ineyo.That's a relief.
- 서연 Seo-yeon현우 씨도 경찰에게 말하세요.hyeon-u ssi-do gyeongchal-ege mal-haseyo.Hyunwoo, you should tell the police too.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo네, 지금 갈게요.ne, jigeum galgeyo.Yes, I'll go now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “police” translations and entries 경찰, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 경찰, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
