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policía

police

noun poh-lee-SEE-ah Common

Origin: From French police, ultimately Greek politeia (civic administration).

Also means

police officer

Usage Note

Policía is feminine as an institution (la policía llegó, the police arrived) but masculine when referring to a male officer (el policía, the policeman); a female officer is la policía — same form, different article. The adjective form is policial. In informal speech poli is the colloquial shortening used in Spain.

Examples

"La policía detuvo al sospechoso."

Natural Translation

The police arrested the suspect.

Literal Translation

The police detained to-the suspect

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