patrol
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patrol
A group of people, usually soldiers, police officers, or security forces, who regularly walk or drive through a certain area in order to secure and monitor it.
Eine Patrouille der Grenzpolizei entdeckte die Spuren im Schnee.
A border police patrol discovered the tracks in the snow.
You can recognize the meaning from the sentence structure. When 'Patrouille' is the subject or object, it means the group. When it appears with the preposition 'auf' and a verb like 'gehen' (to go) or 'sein' (to be), it refers to the action.
Der Kommandant schickte eine Patrouille los. (Gruppe)
The commander sent out a patrol. (group)
When the group is meant, 'Patrouille' is often combined with verbs such as 'entdecken' (to discover), 'sehen' (to see), 'stoppen' (to stop), or 'aussenden' (to send out).
An der Kreuzung sahen wir eine Patrouille der Polizei.
At the intersection, we saw a police patrol.
To express the activity of patrolling, German almost always uses the fixed expressions 'auf Patrouille gehen' (to go on patrol), 'auf Patrouille fahren' (to drive/go on patrol), or 'auf Patrouille sein' (to be on patrol).
Zwei Polizisten gehen jeden Abend im Park auf Patrouille.
Two police officers go on patrol in the park every evening.
round
'die Runde' and 'die Patrouille' can both have to do with an inspection walk or inspection drive. 'Runde' is neutral and general: a person can do 'eine Runde' through the house, around the grounds, or down the hallway. 'Patrouille' sounds much more specific and fits police, military, or security forces who monitor an area. Learners may confuse the words because both describe an inspection along a route. If it is just about a normal inspection round, 'Runde' is enough. If it is about security, surveillance, or uniformed people, 'Patrouille' is more precise.
Die Patrouille kontrolliert heute Nacht den Bahnhof und die Umgebung.
The patrol is checking the station and the surrounding area tonight.
Der Hausmeister macht jeden Abend eine Runde durch das Gebäude.
The caretaker does a round through the building every evening.