jǐngbào: 警报 - Alarm, Warning, Alert

• Keywords: 警报, jǐngbào, Chinese for alarm, Chinese for warning, fire alarm in Chinese, air raid siren in Chinese, alert message, emergency alert, 警告, 报警
• Summary: Learn how to use 警报 (jǐngbào), the essential Chinese word for 'alarm,' 'warning,' or 'alert.' This guide breaks down its meaning, from fire alarms and air raid sirens to phone notifications. Discover its cultural context, see practical examples of its use in emergencies and daily life, and understand how to use it correctly in modern Chinese to signal danger or important information.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): jǐngbào
• Part of Speech: Noun
• HSK Level: HSK 5
• Concise Definition: A warning signal of impending danger or an emergency situation.
• In a Nutshell: At its heart, 警报 (jǐngbào) is about getting your attention for something important and often urgent. Think of any system designed to warn you—a blaring fire alarm, a wailing air raid siren, or a severe weather alert on your phone. It's the signal itself, the sound or message that says “Pay attention now!”

• 警 (jǐng): This character means “to warn” or “to be alert.” It's composed of 言 (yán, speech) and 敬 (jìng, respect). You can think of it as “speech that commands alertness.” It's the same character used in 警察 (jǐngchá, police), who keep people alert to the law.
• 报 (bào): This character means “to report,” “to announce,” or “to inform.” You see it in words like 报纸 (bàozhǐ, newspaper) and 报告 (bàogào, report). It's all about delivering information.

Together, 警 (jǐng) + 报 (bào) literally mean an “alert report” or a “warning announcement.” It's a report (报) that warns (警) you of something, making it the perfect word for any kind of alarm or alert signal.

While “alarm” is a universal concept, the use and perception of 警报 (jǐngbào) in China have some unique cultural layers. Compared to the West, where alarms are mostly associated with fires or burglaries, China has a very prominent and public use of 防空警报 (fángkōng jǐngbào), or air-raid sirens. In many cities, these sirens are tested annually on specific historical dates, such as September 18th (commemorating the Mukden Incident). For citizens, this is not just a test but a solemn “national humiliation day” reminder, a moment to reflect on history. This imbues the sound of a public 警报 with a layer of historical gravity that is less common in the West. In modern China, the term has also rapidly expanded into the digital realm. With the ubiquity of smartphones and apps like WeChat, citizens receive frequent 警报 for everything from approaching typhoons and air pollution levels to public health announcements. This has made 警报 a very common feature of daily digital life, representing official, authoritative information that needs immediate attention.

警报 (jǐngbào) is a versatile noun used in various contexts, from serious emergencies to everyday technology.

• Emergency Situations: This is the most common usage. It refers to the physical alarm systems for fires, security breaches, and natural disasters.
  • `火灾警报 (huǒzāi jǐngbào)` - Fire alarm
  • `防盗警报 (fángdào jǐngbào)` - Burglar alarm
  • `防空警报 (fángkōng jǐngbào)` - Air-raid siren
• Official Warnings: Government bodies issue 警报 for public safety. These are often color-coded (blue, yellow, orange, red) to indicate severity.
  • `台风警报 (táifēng jǐngbào)` - Typhoon warning
  • `高温警报 (gāowēn jǐngbào)` - High-temperature warning
• Technological Alerts: In the digital age, it refers to any system notification that demands attention.
  • `低电量警报 (dī diànliàng jǐngbào)` - Low battery alert
  • `系统警报 (xìtǒng jǐngbào)` - System alert (on a computer)
• Figurative Meaning: It can be used metaphorically to mean an “alarm bell” or a “wake-up call” regarding a potential problem.
• Common Verbs: The term is often paired with specific verbs:
  • `响起 (xiǎngqǐ)` - to sound, to go off (e.g., 警报响起了)
  • `拉响 (lāxiǎng)` - to set off, to sound (an intentional act)
  • `解除 (jiěchú)` - to lift, to call off, to disable (e.g., 解除警报)
  • `发出 (fāchū)` - to issue (used for official warnings)

• Example 1:
  • 突然，大楼里的火灾警报响起来了。
  • Pinyin: Tūrán, dàlóu lǐ de huǒzāi jǐngbào xiǎng qǐlái le.
  • English: Suddenly, the fire alarm in the building went off.
  • Analysis: A classic and direct use of the term. `响起 (xiǎngqǐ)` is a very common verb paired with `警报`.
• Example 2:
  • 每年九月十八日，我们城市都会拉响防空警报。
  • Pinyin: Měinián jiǔ yuè shíbā rì, wǒmen chéngshì dōu huì lāxiǎng fángkōng jǐngbào.
  • English: Every year on September 18th, our city sounds the air-raid sirens.
  • Analysis: This sentence highlights the cultural practice of testing air-raid sirens on historical dates. `拉响 (lāxiǎng)` implies an intentional action of sounding the alarm.
• Example 3:
  • 气象局发布了台风蓝色警报。
  • Pinyin: Qìxiàngjú fābù le táifēng lánsè jǐngbào.
  • English: The meteorological bureau has issued a blue typhoon warning.
  • Analysis: Shows how `警报` is used for official weather warnings. `发布 (fābù)` means “to issue” or “to release.”
• Example 4:
  • 小偷一打破窗户，汽车警报就开始大叫。
  • Pinyin: Xiǎotōu yī dǎpò chuānghu, qìchē jǐngbào jiù kāishǐ dà jiào.
  • English: As soon as the thief broke the window, the car alarm started to blare.
  • Analysis: A common real-life scenario. `大叫 (dà jiào)` literally means “to shout loudly,” vividly describing the sound of the alarm.
• Example 5:
  • 医生的诊断给他敲响了健康的警报。
  • Pinyin: Yīshēng de zhěnduàn gěi tā qiāo xiǎng le jiànkāng de jǐngbào.
  • English: The doctor's diagnosis sounded a health alarm bell for him.
  • Analysis: A perfect example of the figurative use of `警报`. `敲响 (qiāo xiǎng)` means “to strike and make a sound,” often used metaphorically as “to sound an alarm bell.”
• Example 6:
  • 别担心，这只是一个错误的警报。
  • Pinyin: Bié dānxīn, zhè zhǐshì yīgè cuòwù de jǐngbào.
  • English: Don't worry, it was just a false alarm.
  • Analysis: `错误的警报 (cuòwù de jǐngbào)` is the standard way to say “false alarm.”
• Example 7:
  • 等危险过去后，他们才解除了警报。
  • Pinyin: Děng wēixiǎn guòqù hòu, tāmen cái jiěchú le jǐngbào.
  • English: They didn't lift the alarm until after the danger had passed.
  • Analysis: `解除警报 (jiěchú jǐngbào)` is a key phrase meaning to cancel or call off an alert.
• Example 8:
  • 我的手机发出了低电量警报，我得充电了。
  • Pinyin: Wǒ de shǒujī fāchū le dī diànliàng jǐngbào, wǒ děi chōngdiàn le.
  • English: My phone sent out a low battery alert, I need to charge it.
  • Analysis: This demonstrates the modern, technological use of the word for notifications.
• Example 9:
  • 核电站周围安装了辐射警报系统。
  • Pinyin: Hédiànzhàn zhōuwéi ānzhuāng le fúshè jǐngbào xìtǒng.
  • English: A radiation alarm system was installed around the nuclear power plant.
  • Analysis: Shows `警报` as part of a larger compound noun, describing the purpose of a system.
• Example 10:
  • 由于系统检测到可疑活动，触发了安全警报。
  • Pinyin: Yóuyú xìtǒng jiǎncè dào kěyí huódòng, chùfā le ānquán jǐngbào.
  • English: The security alarm was triggered because the system detected suspicious activity.
  • Analysis: `触发 (chùfā)` means “to trigger,” another common verb used with `警报` in technical contexts.

• 警报 (jǐngbào) vs. 闹钟 (nàozhōng): This is the most common mistake for learners.
  • 警报 (jǐngbào): An alarm for an emergency, warning, or important alert (fire, typhoon, low battery).
  • 闹钟 (nàozhōng): An alarm clock specifically for waking up.
  • Incorrect: `今天早上我的警报没有响。` (My alarm didn't go off this morning.)
  • Correct: `今天早上我的闹钟没有响。` (My alarm clock didn't go off this morning.)
• 警报 (jǐngbào) vs. 警告 (jǐnggào): These two are easily confused.
  • 警报 (jǐngbào) - Noun: The signal itself. The siren, the flashing light, the notification message. It's the thing you hear or see.
  • 警告 (jǐnggào) - Verb/Noun: The act of warning, or the content of the warning. It's the action or the message's purpose.
  • Example: `火灾警报(jǐngbào) 是一个警告(jǐnggào)，告诉大家立即撤离。` (The fire alarm is a warning that tells everyone to evacuate immediately.) Here, the `警报` (the sound) serves as a `警告` (a warning).

• 报警 (bàojǐng) - To report (an incident) to the police. An action you take because of a danger, while `警报` is the signal of the danger.
• 警告 (jǐnggào) - To warn; a warning. The act or message of warning, whereas `警报` is the alert signal itself.
• 预警 (yùjǐng) - Early warning. `预` means “in advance.” A more formal or technical term for a warning issued before an event.
• 火警 (huǒjǐng) - Fire alarm; a report of a fire. A specific type of `警报`. Can also refer to the phone number for the fire department (119 in China).
• 警察 (jǐngchá) - Police. Shares the character `警` (alert). The people who respond to emergencies.
• 紧急 (jǐnjí) - Urgent, emergency. Describes the situation that would trigger a `警报`.
• 危险 (wēixiǎn) - Danger, dangerous. The reason a `警报` exists.
• 拉响 (lāxiǎng) - To sound an alarm. A common verb collocation meaning to actively set off an alarm.
• 解除 (jiěchú) - To lift, to cancel. The verb used to stop an official `警报`.
• 防空警报 (fángkōng jǐngbào) - Air-raid siren. A culturally significant and common type of `警报` in China.