noun
police box; small neighborhood police station; koban
The common everyday meaning: a small local police station or police box where officers are stationed, found in neighborhoods, near stations, and at busy intersections.
駅前の交番で道を聞いた。
I asked for directions at the police box in front of the station.
落とし物を近くの交
I took the lost item to a nearby police box.
noun
A much less common noun meaning alternation or doing something by turns. In modern Japanese, 交替 or 交代 is usually the plainer choice; 交番 in this sense is more formal or found in set phrases such as 昼夜交番.
古い文章では、「昼夜交番で働く」という言い方が見られる。
In older writing, the expression 昼夜交番で働く, meaning to work in day-and-night alternation, can be seen.
noun-modifying (irregular)
alternating; alternating current or stress
Technical prenominal use in physics and engineering, as in 交番電流 or 交番応力. It modifies another noun rather than being used like an ordinary adjective.
この実験では、材料に交番応力を加える。
In this experiment, alternating stress is applied to the material.
交番電流は、時間とともに向きが変わる電流である。
An alternating current is a current whose direction changes over time.