TongTong
Sign in

保安 (bǎo ān) — (verb) to ensure public security; to guarantee safety (especially in production or workplace contexts); (noun) security guard

Definition

A 'security guard' (the person) or 'to ensure safety' (the action, often workplace safety). For the government police force, use 公安; 治安 is the abstract idea of public order.

verb
to ensure public securityto guarantee safety (especially in production or workplace contexts)
noun
security guard
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 保安。
    Gōng chǎng bì xū bǎo ān gōng rén de ān quán.
    The factory must ensure workers' safety.
  • 保安。
    Nà wèi bǎo ān měi tiān zài mén kǒu jiǎn chá zhèng jiàn.
    That security guard checks IDs at the entrance every day.
  • 保安。
    Chāo shì bǎo ān bāng wǒ zhǎo dào le diū de dōng xī.
    The security guard at the supermarket helped me find the lost item.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

保bǎoprotect
安ānsafety

保 means protect, 安 means safety; together they mean to keep things safe or a person who does this.

Characters in this word

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

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

Open 保 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Crime & PoliceProfessions & Jobs2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.