警察

Chinese

		to alert; to warn; police	examine; inquire; observe examine; inquire; observe; inspect; look into; to examine
trad. (警察)		警	察
simp. #(警察)		警	察

Etymology 1

Wasei kango (和製漢語), orthographically borrowed from Japanese 警(けい)察(さつ) (keisatsu, “police”)

Noun

(deprecated template usage) 警察

1. (uncountable) police; police force

   警察暴力  ―  jǐngchá bàolì  ―  police brutality

   警察用武力驅趕示威者。 [MSC, trad.]
   警察用武力驱赶示威者。 [MSC, simp.]

   Jǐngchá yòng wǔlì qūgǎn shìwēizhě. [Pinyin]

   The police cleared out the demonstrators by force.

   街上躺著個死人，這不警察剛到。 [MSC, trad.]
   街上躺着个死人，这不警察刚到。 [MSC, simp.]

   Jiē shang tǎngzhe gè sǐrén, zhè bù jǐngchá gāng dào. [Pinyin]

   A dead person is lying on the road, and the police has just arrived.

2. (countable) police officer (Classifier: 名; 位)

   便衣警察  ―  biànyī jǐngchá  ―  plainclothes police officer

Usage notes

• Whilst 警察 usually refers to the police and police officers outside mainland China, the equivalent institution in mainland China is officially known as 公安 (gōng'ān), literally, "public security".

Synonyms

• (police officer): 警官 (jǐngguān), (obsolete) 巡警 (xúnjǐng)

Dialectal synonyms of 警察 (“police; police officer”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		警察, 警官, 警員
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	警察, 雷子 argot
	Taiwan	警察
	Chifeng	警察
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	警察
	Harbin	警察
	Shenyang	警察
	Malaysia	警察, 馬打
	Singapore	警察, 馬打 dated
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	警察
	Tangshan	警察
	Cangzhou	民警
	Baoding	警察
	Shijiazhuang	警察
	Jinan	警察
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	警察
	Qingdao	警察
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	警察
	Wanrong	警察
	Zhengzhou	警察
	Xi'an	警察
	Xining	警察
	Xuzhou	警察
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	警察
	Lanzhou	警察
	Ürümqi	警察
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	警察
	Chongqing	警察
	Wuhan	警察
	Guiyang	警察, 警士 dated, 警士先生 dated face-to-face, 貓菜 dated nickname
	Kunming	警察
	Guilin	警察
	Liuzhou	警察, 警伯 playful
	Binyang (Nanjie)	警察, 走狗 argot
	Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	警察
	Dagudi (Maliba)	警察
	Reshuitang (Longling)	警察
	Mae Salong (Lancang)	警察
	Mae Sai (Tengchong)	警察
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	警察
	Yangzhou	警察
	Nantong	警察
	Hefei	警察
Cantonese	Guangzhou	警察, 差人, 差佬 male, 老二 dated
	Hong Kong	警察, 差人, 阿Sir male, madam female, 差佬 male, slightly derogatory, 差婆 female, slightly derogatory, 警犬 derogatory, 狗 derogatory, 龜 derogatory, 老更 dated
	Taishan	警察
	Dongguan	阿Sir, 差佬
	Qinzhou	警察, 差佬
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	警察, 公安
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	警察, 公安, 差佬
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	警察
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	馬打
	Singapore (Guangfu)	馬打
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	公安, 綠衣, 警察
	Móng Cái	警察, 公安
Gan	Lichuan	警察
Hakka	Meixian	警察
	Yudu	警察
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	警察
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	警察
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	警察
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	巡查, 警察
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	警察
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	巡查
Huizhou	Jixi	警察
	Shexian	警察
Jin	Taiyuan	警察
	Xinzhou	警察, 小對子 dated
	Linhe	警察
	Jining	警察
	Hohhot	警察
	Zhangjiakou	警察
	Handan	警察
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	警察
	Fuqing	警察
	Matsu	警察
Southern Min	Xiamen	警察, 馬打 dated, 烏跤 dated, derogatory
	Quanzhou	警察
	Zhangzhou	警察, 烏跤 dated, derogatory
	Taipei	大人
	Kaohsiung	警察
	Yilan	警察
	Changhua (Lukang)	警察
	Taichung	巡查
	Taichung (Wuqi)	警察
	Tainan	大人, 賊頭 GT, derogatory
	Hsinchu	警察
	Kinmen	馬打
	Penghu (Magong)	大人
	Penang (Hokkien)	馬打
	Singapore (Hokkien)	馬打, 大狗
	Manila (Hokkien)	兵, 警察, 臭兵 derogatory
	Guilin (Biyange)	警察
	Chaozhou	警察
	Shantou	警察
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	馬打
	Singapore (Teochew)	馬打, 大狗, 大狗兄
	Batam (Teochew)	馬打
	Haikou	警察
Central Min	Nanping (Wangtai, Yanping)	警察
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	警察, 差佬
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	警察
Wu	Shanghai	警察, 黑貓警長, 黑貓, 老貓
	Shanghai (Chongming)	警察
	Suzhou	警察
	Danyang	警察
	Ningbo	警察, 警察爛眼 derogatory
	Wenzhou	警察
	Jinhua	警察
Xiang	Changsha	警察
	Loudi	警察
Note	GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

Descendants

• → Zhuang: gingjcaz

See also

• 公安 (gōng'ān)

Etymology 2

Attestable since at least the Tang dynasty.

Verb

警察

1. (literary) to be vigilant; to be alert; to watch out
2. (literary) to examine oneself critically; to examine one's thoughts and conduct
3. (literary) to supervise; to monitor

Synonyms

• (to be vigilant): 警戒 (jǐngjiè), 警覺／警觉 (jǐngjué), 警惕 (jǐngtì)
• (to examine oneself critically):

(deprecated template usage)

• 反思 (fǎnsī)
• 反省 (fǎnxǐng)
• 反躬 (fǎngōng) (literary)
• 問心／问心 (wènxīn) (literary)
• 檢查／检查 (jiǎnchá)
• 檢討／检讨 (jiǎntǎo)
• 省察 (xǐngchá)
• 自問／自问 (zìwèn) (literary)
• 自我反省 (zìwǒ fǎnxǐng)
• 自我批評／自我批评 (zìwǒ pīpíng)
• 自省 (zìxǐng) (literary)

 

• (to supervise): 監察／监察 (jiānchá)

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
警	察
けい Grade: 6	さつ Grade: 4
on'yomi

Noun

警(けい)察(さつ) • (keisatsu) 

1. police

   警(けい)察(さつ)に逮(たい)捕(ほ)される。

   Keisatsu ni taiho sareru.

   Arrested by the police.

Derived terms

• 警察官(けいさつかん) (keisatsukan, “police officer”)
• 警察署(けいさつしょ) (keisatsusho, “police station”)
• 警察庁(けいさつちょう) (keisatsuchō, “National Police Agency”)

Descendants

• → Chinese: 警察 (jǐngchá)
• → Jeju: 졍찰 (jyeongchal)
• → Korean: 경찰 (警察, gyeongchal)
• → Okinawan: 警(きー)察(さち) (kīsachi); 警(ちー)察(さち) (chīsachi)
• → Vietnamese: cảnh sát (警察)

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Korean

Hanja in this term
警	察

Noun

警察 • (gyeongchal) (hangeul 경찰)

1. Hanja form^? of 경찰 (“police”).

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Okinawan

Kanji in this term
警	察
きー Grade: 6	さち Grade: 4

Kanji in this term
警	察
ちー Grade: 6	さち Grade: 4

Etymology

First used around the beginning of the Meiji period, borrowed from Japanese 警察 (keisatsu).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kiːsat͡ɕi~t͡ɕiːsat͡ɕi]

Noun

警(きー)察(さち) or 警(ちー)察(さち) (kīsachi or chīsachi) 

1. police

Further reading

• “きーさち・ちーさち【警察】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
• “キーサチ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).
• “チーサチ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).

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Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
警	察

Noun

警察

1. chữ Hán form of cảnh sát (“police”).