警方 (jǐng fāng) — the police (as an official body or authority) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

the police (as an official body or authority)

Examples

警方。
jǐng fāng Zhèng zài diào chá zhè qǐ shì gù.
The police are investigating this accident.
警方。
jǐng fāng Tí xǐng shì mín zhù yì ān quán.
The police remind citizens to pay attention to safety.
警方。
jǐng fāng Yǐ jīng dài bǔ le xián yí rén.
The police have arrested the suspect.

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.

The idea of 警 as police joins with the side sense of 方 to mean the police as an authority.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

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