警察 (jǐngchá)

警察 means police or police officer. It refers both to individual law enforcement officers and to the police as an institution. The measure word for one officer is 名 (míng) or 个 (gè).

Meanings

[noun] Police officer; policeman; policewoman.
[noun] The police (as an institution or force).

Example Sentences

快叫警察！ Kuài jiào jǐngchá! Call the police quickly!

那位警察帮助了迷路的孩子。 Nà wèi jǐngchá bāngzhù le mílù de háizi. That police officer helped the lost child.

警察正在调查这件事。 Jǐngchá zhèngzài diàochá zhè jiàn shì. The police are currently investigating this matter.

她长大以后想当警察。 Tā zhǎngdà yǐhòu xiǎng dāng jǐngchá. She wants to become a police officer when she grows up.

Collocations

Collocation	Meaning
叫警察	to call the police
报警	to report to the police
交通警察	traffic police
警察局	police station
一名警察	one police officer

Memory Hook

警 means to warn or be alert (it contains 言, words, and 敬, reverence — speaking with watchful authority), and 察 means to observe or investigate. A 警察 is someone who warns and investigates: the vigilant observer of the law.