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警 (jǐng) — to warn; to alert; police (noun, often in compounds)

Definition

警 (jǐng) is a bound form, almost never used alone: as a verb it means 'to warn' (in 警告, 警戒), and as a noun it means 'police' (in 警察, 警官). Most learners meet it only inside compounds.

bound form
to warnto alertpolice (noun, often in compounds)

Examples

  • 。
    Lǎo shī jǐng gào xué shēng yào xiǎo xīn.
    The teacher warned the students to be careful.
  • 。
    Tā shì yì míng nǚ jǐng.
    She is a female police officer.
  • ，。
    Zhèng fǔ fā chū jǐng bào, tí xǐng dà jiā zhù yì ān quán.
    The government issued an alert, reminding everyone to pay attention to safety.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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.

Appears in
1000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsCrime & Police2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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