Japanese symbol for “police”
警察
けいさつ
Romaji: keisatsu
police
In Japanese, police is 警察, read けいさつ (keisatsu).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n police
- n police officer
- n police station
- n-suf self-appointed enforcer (of a rule, standard, etc.); busybody; vigilante; gatekeeper
Written forms: 警察. Readings: けいさつ、ケーサツ、ケイサツ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “police”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ポリス | ポリス porisu | police; police officer |
| ポリ | ポリ pori | police; police officer; cop |
| 察 | さつ satsu | cops; police |
| 同署 | どうしょ dousho | the (above-mentioned) authorities; police (from said station) |
| 警官隊 | けいかんたい keikantai | (squad of) police; police force |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 警戒 | けいかい keikai | vigilance; caution; alertness |
| 警官 | けいかん keikan | police officer; policeman; constable |
| 警告 | けいこく keikoku | warning; caution; admonition |
| 警視庁 | けいしちょう keishichou | Metropolitan Police Department (Tokyo) |
| 警報 | けいほう keihou | warning; alarm; alert |
| 観察 | かんさつ kansatsu | observation; survey; watching |
| 検察 | けんさつ kensatsu | criminal investigation; prosecution |
| 視察 | しさつ shisatsu | inspection; observation |
See also: Chinese symbol for “police”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.