Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 警察 | jǐngchá |
| 警官 | jǐngguān |
| 警員 / 警员 | jǐngyuán |
The term 警察 is the most common way to refer to the police as a profession or the police force in general.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 警官 is composed of 警 (police/alarm) and 官 (official).
Which one should you use?
警官 is a more formal term often used to refer to an officer of a certain rank or in official contexts. 警员 or 警員 is a formal term used to refer to individual members of the police force, often used in administrative or official contexts.
Is it said differently in some regions?
警員 is the Cantonese term for police officer used in Hong Kong and Macau.
How does it change in a sentence?
When counting a single police officer, the measure word 一名 is commonly used for professional titles, such as in 一名警察.
How do you pronounce it?
jǐngchá
When do people say it?
In an informal setting, children often address a male police officer as 警察叔叔 (Uncle Police), while 警察阿姨 (aunt police officer) is used to convey a warm tone.
Did you know?
- The modern Chinese word for police, 警察, is actually a loanword from Japanese. It was developed in Japan during the Meiji period to translate Western concepts of law enforcement and then adopted into the Chinese language.
- While English speakers use 'cop' as a slang term, Chinese speakers sometimes use 条子 (tiáozi) as a derogatory or highly informal slang term for police.
- The character 警 is also found in words related to 'caution' or 'warning', such as 警告, which means 'to warn'. This shares the same conceptual root of alertness and vigilance.
Examples in context
- 你是怎么成为一名警察的？How did you become a police officer?This sentence is useful for asking about someone's career path using 警察.Tatoeba #13938561 by jan_OkulaJu, translation #1885931 by CK
- 門口有位警察。There's a police officer at the door.This sentence is useful for describing a person's location using 警察.Tatoeba #10258699 by DaoSeng, translation #10259567 by bekindtoall
- 警官逮捕了竊賊。The police officer arrested the burglar.This sentence is useful for describing an action taken by an officer using 警官.Tatoeba #870316 by Martha, translation #400568 by CK
- 形容你喜欢的警察。Describe your favorite police officer.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
浩然 and 梓涵 are discussing his career goals at a cafe.
- 浩然 Haoran我想成为一名警察。Wǒ xiǎng chéngwéi yī míng jǐngchá.I want to become a police officer.
- 梓涵 Zihan那是一个很酷的职业。Nà shì yīgè hěn kù de zhíyè.That is a very cool profession.
- 浩然 Haoran但我怕工作很辛苦。Dàn wǒ pà gōngzuò hěn xīnkǔ.But I am afraid the work is hard.
- 梓涵 Zihan但是你可以帮助很多人。Dànshì nǐ kěyǐ bāngzhù hěnduō rén.But you can help many people.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “police officer” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 警察, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
