民警 (mín jǐng) — people's police; police officer (PRC context)

Definition

民警 is the everyday Mainland-Chinese term for a police officer, shortened from 人民警察. Use it for rank-and-file officers; 警察 is the more general word for 'police' as an institution or individual.

noun
people's policepolice officer (PRC context)
Measure word · 名

Examples

  • 民警。
    mín jǐng Zhèng zài jiē shàng xún luó.
    The police officer is patrolling the street.
  • 民警。
    Zhè wèi mín jǐng tài dù hěn hǎo.
    This police officer has a very good attitude.
  • ，。
    Rú guǒ yù dào kùn nan, kě yǐ zhǎo fù jìn de chē.
    If you run into trouble, you can find a nearby police car.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

民mínpeople
警jǐngpolice

The people part and the police part combine to name people's police.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspoken language, speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
敬
敬jìng警
Same sound today

警 places 言 (speech) below 敬; 敬 gives the sound.

Open 警 →

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