警戒 (jǐng jiè) — to warn, to alert | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

警戒 (jǐngjiè) means to put people on guard against danger, often by issuing an alert. It is broader and more official than 警告 (a specific warning/admonishment) and less about anticipating hidden threats than 警惕.

verb

to warnto alert

Examples

警戒。
Zhèng fǔ jǐng jiè shì mín xiǎo xīn bào yǔ.
The government warned residents to be careful of heavy rain.
警戒。
Jǐng chá jǐng jiè jū mín zhù yì fáng dào.
The police alerted residents to guard against theft.
警戒。
Gōng sī jǐng jiè yuán gōng zhù yì fáng huǒ ān quán.
The company warned employees to pay attention to fire safety.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

戒jièguard against

“警” warns and “戒” guards against danger, together giving alertness.

Characters in this word

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

敬言警

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspoken language, speech

Sound part声符shēngfú

敬

Same sound today

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

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

戈廾戒

戈戈gēhalberd
廾廾gǒnghands

戒 shows 廾 (hands) and 戈 (a halberd) together: hands holding up a weapon as a warning.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Military & Defense Safety & Danger

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