巡警 (xún jǐng) — patrol police officer

Definition

noun
patrol police officer
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 巡警
    xún jǐng Měi tiān zài jiē shàng xún luó, bǎo hù shì mín ān quán.
    Patrol police officers walk the streets every day to protect citizens' safety.
  • 巡警
    Tā dà xué bì yè hòu dāng le yì míng xún jǐng.
    After graduating from university, he became a patrol police officer.
  • 巡警
    Nà wèi xún jǐng zhèng zài chǔ lǐ yì qǐ jiāo tōng shì gù.
    That patrol police officer is handling a traffic accident.

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.

xúnpatrol
jǐngpolice

巡 describes patrolling, and 警 is police, naming a patrol 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
chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
chuānxún
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

巡 pairs 辵, a walking part, with 川 as a sound part.

Open 巡 →

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
yánspoken language, speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

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

Open 警 →
Appears in

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