Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| policía | /poliˈθia/ /poliˈsia/ |
feminine |
| tombería | /tombeɾia/ (from spelling rules) | Peru, feminine |
policía is the generic and most widely used term for the police. Specific entities have their own names: Policía Nacional refers to the national police force and Guardia Civil specifically refers to the Spanish Civil Guard. In Costa Rica, the police force is referred to as Fuerza Pública and in Mexico, policía ministerial refers to investigative police.
Which one should you use?
The feminine form la policía is used when referring to the police force or institution as a collective entity. If you are referring to a single person, the word becomes a countable noun and changes gender based on their sex: el policía for a male officer and la policía for a female officer.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Peru, the word tombería is used. In Chile, the colloquial term Los Pacos is used to refer to the police.
How does it change in a sentence?
When used to refer to an individual, the word functions as a countable noun. For a male officer, use el policía and for a female officer, use la policía.
How do you pronounce it?
/poliˈθia/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often incorrectly say los policía when trying to refer to the police in the plural. To refer to multiple officers, you must pluralize the noun as los policías.
Did you know?
- The word policía shares an ancient ancestor with the English word 'politics'. Both stem from the Greek word for the administration of a city or state.
- In some regions, the term la tira is used as a slang expression for the police, similar to how 'the fuzz' is used in older English slang.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, referring to the police as la ley (the law) is a common idiomatic way to describe law enforcement arriving at a scene.
Examples in context
- Llamá a la policía.Call the police.This sentence demonstrates how to use policía to call the police.Tatoeba #2418238 by hayastan, translation #2245030 by CK
- Llama a la Policía.Phone the police.This sentence shows the use of policía when phoning the police.Tatoeba #2975758 by marcelostockle, translation #9331792 by Amastan
- ¡Llama a la policía!Call the police!This sentence uses policía in an urgent command to call the police.Tatoeba #2884 by Shishir, translation #1718 by CK
- La policía está investigando el robo.The police are investigating the robbery.
- La Policía Nacional detuvo al sospechoso.The national police arrested the suspect.
- La Guardia Civil patrulla las zonas rurales.The Civil Guard patrols rural areas.
- El poli me multó por exceso de velocidad.The cop fined me for speeding.
- 438 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Lucía are walking down a street when they see a patrol car.
- AlejandroMira, ahí viene la policía.Look, the police are coming.
- LucíaEspero que no haya problemas.I hope there are no problems.
- AlejandroParece que solo están patrullando.It looks like they are just patrolling.
- LucíaQué bueno que la policía esté cerca.It is good that the police are nearby.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “police” translations and entries policía, tombería, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries policía, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
