警员 (jǐng yuán) — police officer, policeman (also informal cop) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

police officerpoliceman (also informal cop)

Measure word · 名

Examples

警员。
Zhè wèi jǐng yuán zhèng zài lù kǒu zhǐ huī jiāo tōng.
This police officer is directing traffic at the intersection.
警员。
jǐng yuán Jiē dào bào jǐng hòu lì kè gǎn dào xiàn chǎng.
After receiving the report, the police officers immediately arrived at the scene.
警员，。
Tā dāng jǐng yuán yǐ jīng èr shí nián le, jīng yàn fēi cháng fēng fù.
He has been a police officer for twenty years and has very rich experience.

Origin

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

The police sense 警 and the person sense 员 combine to denote a 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.

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

鼎鼎dǐngding

Sound part声符shēngfú

〇

〇líng員yuán

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Appears in

Crime & Police 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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