ตำรวจ
police
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- 1 police、police officer
This common word refers either to the police as an organization or to an individual police officer, depending on context.
police、police officer
It refers to the public law-enforcement organization or to an officer who works for it.
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ตำรวจเป็นที่พึ่งของประชาชน tamrùat pen thîiphʉ̂ŋ khɔ̌ɔŋ prachaachon The police are a source of support for the public. ตำรวจเป็นที่พึ่งของประชาชน details
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เขาเป็นตำรวจน้ำดี khǎw pen tamrùat náam dii He is an honest police officer. เขาเป็นตำรวจน้ำดี details
Learning notes
Explanation
ตำรวจ can refer to the police collectively or to an individual police officer; context determines which meaning is intended. For example, เรียกตำรวจ means “call the police,” while เขาเป็นตำรวจ means “he is a police officer.” Individual officers can be counted with คน, as in ตำรวจหนึ่งคน (“one police officer”). นาย is also used as a more formal classifier for officers. The word is neutral and common in everyday conversation, news reports, and official contexts.
Usage
It is commonly used when discussing crimes, theft, accidents, traffic violations, calling or notifying the police, and finding a police station. It also appears frequently when stating someone’s occupation and in news reports about investigations or arrests.
Caution
ตำรวจ by itself does not mean “police station”; use สถานีตำรวจ. Also, translate it as either “the police” or “a police officer” according to context.
Differences from similar words
1 police synonyms
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เจ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจ explicitly identifies someone as a police official or officer and sounds somewhat more official. ตำรวจ is the shorter, everyday term and can refer either to an officer or to the police collectively.