警犬 (jǐng quǎn) — police dog | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A police dog — a dog trained for police work (tracking, searching, patrol). 警察 refers to the human police officer; 警犬 is the canine partner.

noun

police dog

Measure word · 只

Examples

警犬。
jǐng quǎn Zhèng zài xún luó.
The police dog is on patrol.
警犬。
Jǐng chá dài zhe jǐng quǎn sōu chá le cāng kù.
The police searched the warehouse with a police dog.
警犬。
Zhè tiáo jǐng quǎn jīng guò yán gé xùn liàn.
This police dog has undergone strict training.

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.

“警” police and “犬” dog, so it means a dog used by police.

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

犬 is a drawing of a dog seen from the side.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Animals & Mammals Crime & Police

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