पुलिस (pulis)

noun A single-sense loanword from English 'police', referring to the law-enforcement force or its personnel.
Sense 1 : the police (force or officers)
noun, feminine
Synonyms: थाना (thaanaa, police station, not the force itself)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: पुलिस (pulis) is treated as a collective feminine noun in Hindi, much like सरकार (sarkaar, 'government') -- so you'll hear पुलिस बुलाओ (pulis bulaao, 'call the police') with feminine agreement even though no single woman is being referenced. In everyday Delhi speech, पुलिसवाला (pulisvaalaa) is the common informal word for an individual policeman, while पुलिस (pulis) itself usually refers to the institution or a group.
Common Mistakes: 1) पुलिस (pulis) is grammatically singular feminine even when referring to many officers collectively, so learners often wrongly pluralize it or make the verb agree as masculine/plural: say पुलिस आई (pulis aaii, 'the police came'), not पुलिस आए (pulis aae). 2) To name one officer, Hindi typically adds a word like पुलिसवाला (pulisvaalaa, 'policeman') or पुलिस अफ़सर (pulis afsar, 'police officer') rather than using पुलिस (pulis) alone for an individual.
Sample Sentences:
पुलिस आ रही है। The police are coming.
(pulis aa rahii hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
किसी ने पुलिस बुलाई। Someone called the police.
(kisii ne pulis bulaaii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
पुलिस बुलाओ, जल्दी! Call the police, quick!
(pulis bulaao, jaldii!)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
पुलिस चोर को पकड़ रही है। The police are catching the thief.
(pulis chor ko pakad rahii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अगर समय पर सूचना मिलती, तो पुलिस पहले पहुँच जाती। If the information had arrived on time, the police would have reached earlier.
(agar samay par soochnaa miltii, to pulis pahle pahunch jaatii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Perfective -- Voice: Active
अपराधी को पुलिस द्वारा गिरफ़्तार किया गया। The criminal was arrested by the police.
(apraadhii ko pulis dvaaraa giraftaar kiyaa gayaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
शायद पुलिस को अभी तक कोई सबूत न मिला हो। Perhaps the police haven't found any evidence yet.
(shaayad pulis ko abhii tak koii saboot n milaa ho।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
पुलिस रोज़ इस इलाके में गश्त करती है। The police patrol this area every day.
(pulis roz is ilaake men gasht kartii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पुलिस ने भीड़ को काबू में करने के लिए लाठीचार्ज किया। The police baton-charged the crowd to control it.
(pulis ne bhiid ko kaaboo men karne ke lie laathiichaarj kiyaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
पुलिस को हर मामले की जाँच करनी चाहिए। The police should investigate every case.
(pulis ko har maamle kii jaanch karnii chaahie।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पुलिस कल तक मामला सुलझा लेगी। The police will resolve the case by tomorrow.
(pulis kal tak maamlaa suljhaa legii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct): पुलिस (pulis)
(sg.f.oblique): पुलिस (pulis)
(pl.f.direct): पुलिसें (pulisen)
(pl.f.oblique): पुलिसों (pulison)