cops and robbers; hide-and-seek game
A children's game similar to hide-and-seek, where one team (police/detectives) chases the other (thieves). Abbreviation of 警察と泥棒 (police and thief) or 刑事と泥棒 (detective and thief).
After school, we all played cops and robbers.
Cops and robbers is a game where you split into police and thief roles.
Katakana spelling, also common.
Alternate katakana spelling with long vowel mark.
Ateji kanji form, rarely used. 警 (police) + 泥 (thief).
Ateji kanji form, rarely used. 刑 (detective) + 泥 (thief).
An abbreviation formed from the initial portions of 警察 and 泥棒; in some usage the first element is understood as 刑事.