警 (jǐng): to alert, to warn, police
警 (jǐng) is a Chinese character meaning “to alert.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 敬 (phonetic) and 言 (semantic). It ranks #687 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 警 speech. Its radical form 讠 (speech) appears in many related characters such as 认 (rèn, to recognize, to admit), 记 (jì, to remember, to record), 识 (shí, to know, knowledge).
Definitions
- to alert
- to warn
- police
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 警 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 警
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 警察noun | jǐng chá | police | 4 |
| 警告verb | jǐng gào | to warn | 6 |
| 报警verb | bào jǐng | to sound an alarm | 5 |
| 交警noun | jiāo jǐng | traffic police (abbr. for 交通警察[jiao1 tong1 jing3 cha2]) | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 警官 | jǐng guān | constable |
| 警方 | jǐng fāng | police |
| 警报 | jǐng bào | (fire) alarm |
| 警察局 | jǐng chá jú | police station |
| 警卫 | jǐng wèi | to stand guard over |
| 警员 | jǐng yuán | police officer |
| 警惕 | jǐng tì | to be on the alert |
| 警徽 | jǐng huī | police badge |
| 警戒 | jǐng jiè | to warn |
| 特警 | tè jǐng | SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) |
| 警车 | jǐng chē | police car |
| 巡警 | xún jǐng | police patrol |
| 刑警 | xíng jǐng | criminal police (abbr. for 刑事警察[xing2 shi4 jing3 cha2]) |
| 警署 | jǐng shǔ | police station (abbr. for 警察署[jing3 cha2 shu3]) |
| 骑警 | qí jǐng | mounted police (on horse or motorbike) |
警 appears in 100 compound words: 48 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 19 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 警 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
Stories to Caution the World, vernacular short stories by Feng Menglong 馮夢龍|冯梦龙[Feng2 Meng4 long2] published in 1624
Example Sentences
他警言谨慎，从不说没有根据的话。
tā jǐng yán jǐn shèn , cóng bù shuō méi yǒu gēn jù de huà .
He is cautious and prudent, never uttering unfounded remarks.
默茨访华前警告不要抱有“幻想”
mò 茨 fǎng huá qián jǐng gào bù yāo bào yǒu huàn xiǎng
Mertz warned against "illusions" before visiting China
马来西亚外海7.1强震 震源极深未发海啸警报
mǎ lái xī yà wài hǎi 7 . 1 qiáng zhèn zhèn yuán jí shēn wèi fā hǎi xiào jǐng bào
The 7.1 strong earthquake off the coast of Malaysia had a very deep epicenter and no tsunami warning was issued
日本流感疫情持续高位,七成地区达“警报”级别
rì běn liú gǎn yì qíng chí xù gāo wèi , qī chéng dì qū dá jǐng bào jí bié
The influenza epidemic in Japan continues to be high, with 70% of the regions reaching the "alert" level
视频丨跨越4000多公里 为了让援疆民警尝到家的味..
shì pín 丨 kuà yuè 4 0 0 0 duō gōng lǐ wéi le ràng yuán jiāng mín jǐng cháng dào jiā de wèi . .
Video丨Spanning more than 4,000 kilometers, in order to let the police who aid Xinjiang taste the taste of home:
警察找到指纹了吗？
Jǐngchá zhǎodào zhǐwén le ma?
Did the police find any fingerprints?
警察逮捕了汤姆吗？
Jǐngchá dàibǔ le Tāngmǔ ma?
Did the police arrest Tom?
他超速驾驶，被警察逮捕了。
Tā chāosù jiàshǐ, bèi jǐngchá dàibǔ le.
The policeman arrested him for speeding.
如有火警，切勿使用升降机。
Rú yǒu huǒjǐng, qièwù shǐyòng shēngjiàngjī.
In case of fire, do not use the lift.
警察瞄准了那个男人。
Jǐngchá miáozhǔn le nàge nánrén.
The policeman aimed his gun at the man.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 警 (jǐng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 警 and 擎?
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What is the radical of 警?
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What are common words containing 警?
What characters sound the same as 警 (jǐng)?
Is 警 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 警 with real-time feedback
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