情报

• Pinyin: qíng bào
• Hanzi breakdown: 情 = 忄+ 青 (situation/feeling); 报 = 幸 + 阝(report/notify)

Meaning

Intelligence; classified information; a covert report on military, political, or strategic matters gathered through surveillance or espionage.

Primarily used in military, security, and political contexts. Common collocations: 情报工作 (intelligence work), 情报局 (intelligence bureau), 情报人员 (intelligence officer). In informal usage it can refer to inside tips or advance knowledge about any matter.

Examples

1. 侦察小队冒着极大风险深入敌后，成功截获了一批至关重要的军事情报。 Risking their lives, the reconnaissance squad went deep behind enemy lines and successfully intercepted a batch of critically important military intelligence.
2. 各国情报机构之间既存在激烈的竞争与对抗，也有基于共同利益的情报共享合作。 Intelligence agencies around the world engage in intense competition and confrontation, but they also share intelligence and cooperate when interests align.
3. 他凭借多年积累的内部情报，在市场上做出了一系列精准而富有远见的商业决策。 Relying on insider intelligence accumulated over many years, he made a series of accurate and far-sighted business decisions in the market.

Usage Guide

Context: military, politics, security, business

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 政府部门依据最新情报，迅速调整了边境安全部署，将潜在威胁消弭于萌芽之中。(Government departments swiftly adjusted border security deployments based on the latest intelligence, neutralising potential threats before they could materialise.)
• 企业竞争情报的收集与分析已成为现代商业战略规划中不可或缺的核心环节。(The gathering and analysis of competitive business intelligence has become an indispensable core element of modern commercial strategic planning.)

Don't Say

• 我有一个关于今晚派对的情报 — use 消息 or 内部消息 for casual social tips; 情报 has a formal, covert, strategic connotation that is inappropriate for social gossip

Origin & History

情 (situation/feeling) + 报 (report/information) — a report on the current situation

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal