Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
Police in Spanish: Policía, Officers, and Regional Forces
Policía · noun (masculine/feminine) · poh-lee-SEE-ah
Police in Spanish is policía (poh-lee-SEE-ah). La policía (feminine) refers to the police force as an institution. El policía is a male officer; la policía is also a female officer. Context resolves the ambiguity.
Policía is poh-lee-SEE-ah, four syllables with stress on SEE.
Llamé a la policía cuando escuché ruidos extraños.
I called the police when I heard strange noises.
Police in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for police, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| policía | police | poh-lee-SEE-ah | Default, widely understood |
| la policía | police | the police force (feminine noun) | |
| el policía / la policía | police | an individual officer (gendered) | |
| carabineros | police | Chile (national police) |
How Native Speakers Use Policía
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Calling the police
Llamé a la policía cuando escuché ruidos extraños.
I called the police when I heard strange noises.
La policía here is the institution.
A single officer
El policía me pidió mi identificación.
The police officer asked me for my ID.
El policía is one male officer.
Police station
La comisaría de policía está a dos cuadras de aquí.
The police station is two blocks from here.
Comisaría is the police station; cuadras means city blocks.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Policía
Mixing up the institution and the officer
Incorrect: El policía llegó rápido. (meaning the whole force)
Correct: La policía llegó rápido.
When you mean the police force or department, use la policía (feminine). El policía means one male officer.
Adding an English plural -s
Incorrect: Los policías vinieron. (nothing wrong, but watch the accent)
Correct: Los policías vinieron.
Policías is correctly pluralized. The common mistake is dropping the accent mark: policias is incorrect because the stress must stay on the í.
Lock in Police Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Policía used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using policía in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Llamé a la policía cuando escuché ruidos extraños. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.
Common Questions About Police in Spanish
- How do you say police in Spanish?
- Police in Spanish is policía (poh-lee-SEE-ah). La policía is the force; el/la policía is an individual officer.
- What is the emergency number for police in Spanish-speaking countries?
- It varies: Spain uses 112 (or 091 for national police), Mexico uses 911, Colombia uses 123, and Argentina uses 911. Always check the local number when traveling.
- How do I say police officer in Spanish?
- A police officer is un oficial de policía or simply un policía (male) / una policía (female). Agente de policía is another formal option.