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刑警 (xíng jǐng) — criminal police officer; detective (in the police force)

Definition

noun
criminal police officerdetective (in the police force)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 刑警。
    Tā shì yì míng jīng yàn fēng fù de xíng jǐng.
    He is an experienced criminal police officer.
  • 刑警。
    xíng jǐng Zhèng zài diào chá zhè qǐ dào qiè àn.
    The criminal police are investigating this burglary case.
  • 刑警。
    Zhè wèi xíng jǐng píng jiè xiàn suǒ chéng gōng pò àn.
    This detective successfully solved the case using clues.

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.

刑xíngcriminal
警jǐngpolice

刑 points to criminal matters, and 警 points to police, so the word names a criminal police officer.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刀刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
井
井jǐng刑xíng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刑 puts 刀 (knife) beside 井. The knife part shows the punishment idea, and 井 gives the sound.

Open 刑 →

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 →
Appears in
Crime & PoliceProfessions & Jobs

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