Emergency

1. ¡Socorro!

   Help!

   Usage

   Shout to get help in an emergency

   Grammar Note

   "¡Ayuda!" also means "Help!" but "Socorro!" conveys a more urgent, desperate situation

2. Llame a una ambulancia, por favor

   Please call an ambulance

   Usage

   Request an ambulance in a medical emergency

   Grammar Note

   "Llame" is the formal imperative of llamar (to call). Emergency number in Spain is 112

3. Me han robado

   I've been robbed

   Usage

   Report theft to the police

   Grammar Note

   Impersonal use of third person plural passive: "they have robbed me" = "I've been robbed"

4. Necesito un médico

   I need a doctor

   Usage

   Use when you are sick or injured and need medical attention

   Grammar Note

   "Necesitar" is a regular -ar verb. "Médico" is masculine; "médica" is feminine

5. ¿Dónde está el hospital más cercano?

   Where is the nearest hospital?

   Usage

   Find the nearest hospital in an emergency

   Grammar Note

   "Más + adjective" forms the superlative. "Cercano" means near/close

6. Llame a la policía, por favor

   Please call the police

   Usage

   Ask someone to call the police in a criminal or dangerous situation

   Grammar Note

   "Llame" is the formal imperative of llamar. In Spain, 112 is the universal emergency number

7. He perdido mi pasaporte

   I have lost my passport

   Usage

   Report a lost passport to the police or your embassy

   Grammar Note

   Present perfect: he + perdido. "Perder" (to lose) is irregular in stem-changing forms

8. ¿Dónde está la farmacia más cercana?

   Where is the nearest pharmacy?

   Usage

   Find the nearest pharmacy when you urgently need medicine or supplies

   Grammar Note

   "Farmacia" is feminine, so "cercana". In Spain, pharmacies display a green cross sign

9. Soy diabético/a

   I am diabetic

   Usage

   Inform medical staff of a pre-existing medical condition

   Grammar Note

   Use "ser" for permanent conditions. Masculine: diabético, feminine: diabética

10. Me ha picado un insecto

    I have been bitten by an insect

    Usage

    Report an insect bite to medical staff, especially if an allergic reaction occurs

    Grammar Note

    "Picar" means to sting/bite. Apply: una serpiente (a snake), una medusa (a jellyfish)

11. ¡Basta!

    Stop it

    Usage

    A blunt refusal to show without speaking to pushy touts or scammers

12. ¡No me toque!

    Do not touch me

    Usage

    Show it to anyone touching you; the usted imperative makes it unmistakably firm

13. Estoy perdido/a

    I am lost

    Usage

    Your opening when asking for help in an unfamiliar place; women say "perdida"

14. el incendio

    Fire

    Usage

    Point to this to report a building or forest fire; it means a large fire that destroys and causes harm, unlike "el fuego" for the flame itself

15. el ladrón

    Thief

    Usage

    Names the person who stole; the feminine is "la ladrona"

16. el robo

    Robbery

    Usage

    For being robbed by violence, intimidation or force; Spanish law calls taking something unnoticed "el hurto" instead

17. el carterista

    Pickpocket

    Usage

    Names someone who lifts wallets and cash from pockets and bags without using force. The form does not change for gender: "la carterista" for a woman

18. el secuestro

    Kidnapping

    Usage

    Point to this to report that someone has been taken away; it means unlawfully holding a person, and the result of doing so

19. el asesinato

    Murder

    Usage

    Point to this to report that someone has been killed. "El homicidio" also covers deaths caused by negligence, so this word — limited to deliberate killing — is the safer one

20. los disturbios

    Riot

    Usage

    For a crowd that has turned violent; Spanish normally uses the plural in this sense. A peaceful protest march is "la manifestación"

21. la bomba

    Bomb

    Usage

    Point to this to report an explosive device. The basic meaning is a pump for moving fluid, and it also covers a fuel pump and a filling station, so show it on its own only in an emergency context

22. el tirón

    Snatching

    Usage

    Point to this when a bag was yanked away from you in the street. It means a theft in which the thief seizes a bag or other object by pulling violently at it and then makes off, and that sense is colloquial. On its own the word also means a tug or a pulled muscle, so show it where the situation makes the meaning clear

23. ¡Fuego! ¡Salga!

    Fire! Run!

    Usage

    Shouted to warn people that there is a fire and to get them out

    Grammar Note

    "Fuego" means the combustion of a substance giving off light and heat, and it doubles as the shouted fire alarm; the noun for a building fire itself is "el incendio". "Salga" is the "usted" imperative of salir, like "Llame" and "No me toque"

24. ¡Al ladrón! ¡Deténgalo!

    Thief! Catch him!

    Usage

    Shouted to alert bystanders and get them to stop a thief who is running away

    Grammar Note

    "¡Al ladrón!" is the set cry raised when chasing a thief. "Detener" means to stop something from going further, and attaching the object pronoun "lo" to the imperative shifts the stress, which is why the written accent appears ("deténgalo")

25. Llame a los bomberos, por favor

    Please call the fire department

    Usage

    Ask someone to call the fire brigade for a fire or a rescue

    Grammar Note

    Spanish calls for the firefighters rather than the vehicle. The emergency number is 112

26. ¿Dónde está la comisaría de policía?

    Where is the police station?

    Usage

    Ask for the police station when you need to go there, for example to report a crime

    Grammar Note

    The "¿Dónde está + noun?" pattern. "Comisaría" names the police station as an office and its building; it is distinct from the force itself ("la policía")

27. Quiero poner una denuncia por robo

    I want to report a theft

    Usage

    Use at a police station to have a theft formally recorded, for example for an insurance claim

    Grammar Note

    "Denuncia" means both the act of reporting a possible offence to the competent authority and the document recording it; the document is what an insurer asks for

28. ¿Hay alguien que hable japonés?

    Is there anyone who speaks Japanese?

    Usage

    Look for someone who speaks Japanese at a hospital or a police station

    Grammar Note

    The "¿Hay …?" frame. The relative clause takes the subjunctive ("hable", not "habla") because the person being looked for is not known to exist

29. Esta persona está inconsciente

    This person is unconscious

    Usage

    Tell the emergency services or bystanders that someone has collapsed and is not responsive

    Grammar Note

    "Inconsciente" is polysemous — it can mean "involuntary, unthinking" — but it also means "having lost consciousness". Using "estar" rather than "ser" marks it as a temporary state and fixes that reading. "Persona" is a feminine noun used of people of any gender

30. ¡Alguien se está ahogando! ¡Socorro!

    Someone is drowning! Help!

    Usage

    Shouted to raise the alarm when someone is drowning at the beach or in a pool

    Grammar Note

    "Ahogar" means causing death by lack of breathing; the reflexive "ahogarse" is to drown. "Estar" plus the gerund marks the action as in progress. "¡Socorro!" is the cry for help

31. Me han pegado

    I was beaten

    Usage

    Report to the police or a doctor that you were assaulted

    Grammar Note

    The same construction as "Me han robado", where an unnamed third-person plural subject reports what was done to you. "Pegar" also means to stick things together, but it also means one person striking another, which is the reading this person and context force

32. Han entrado a robar en mi habitación

    My room was broken into

    Usage

    Report that your hotel room or lodging was broken into while you were out

    Grammar Note

    The same unnamed third-person plural construction. "Entrar" means passing into a place, and "entrar a + infinitive" states what they came in to do

33. Esta persona es el culpable

    This person is the culprit

    Usage

    Point out the person present and tell the police that this is the one who did it

    Grammar Note

    "Culpable" has a legal sense: the person who has committed an offence. "Ser" rather than "estar" is used because this states an identity, not a temporary state. "Persona" is a feminine noun used of people of any gender

34. Me han estafado

    I was deceived

    Usage

    Report that you were scammed or overcharged

35. Me han robado la cartera

    My wallet was stolen

    Usage

    Report to the police that your wallet was stolen

    Grammar Note

    "Me han robado" with the stolen item added. "Cartera" shares its root with "carterista" (pickpocket); it means a flat compartmented object for keeping money and personal documents. Latin America also says "billetera"

36. Se me ha olvidado algo

    I have forgotten something

    Usage

    Say that you left something behind in a shop or a vehicle and need help finding it

    Grammar Note

    The "se me + olvidar" frame, in which the forgotten item is the grammatical subject. It presents the lapse as accidental and differs from losing something outright ("He perdido mi pasaporte")

37. Me ha atropellado un coche

    I was hit by a car

    Usage

    Report to the emergency services or the police that a car hit you

    Grammar Note

    The "Me ha + participle + subject" frame, with the subject following the verb. "Atropellar" means a vehicle violently striking a person or animal. Latin America generally says "carro" or "auto" rather than "coche"

38. Salga por la salida de emergencia, por favor

    Please escape through the emergency exit

    Usage

    Direct someone to the emergency exit when a building has to be evacuated

    Grammar Note

    "Salga" is the "usted" imperative of salir, the same root as the noun "salida". "Salida de emergencia" is exactly the wording of the emergency exit sign, which is what is posted in Spanish-speaking countries

39. ¡Cuidado!

    Watch out!

    Usage

    Shown to warn someone of an immediate hazard without having to speak. The noun on warning signs is "peligro", whereas this is what you say to alert a person

40. Dese prisa, por favor

    Please hurry

    Usage

    Ask someone to hurry when time matters

    Grammar Note

    "Darse prisa" is an idiom meaning to do something quickly; this is its "usted" imperative. The familiar form is "date prisa"

41. Venga ahora mismo, por favor

    Please come right away

    Usage

    Ask someone, for example on the phone, to come immediately

    Grammar Note

    The "usted" imperative of "venir", meaning to move towards where the speaker is. "Ahora mismo" is an adverbial phrase meaning "right now"

42. Es urgente

    It's an emergency

    Usage

    Say that the matter cannot wait, for example when you are being asked to queue

    Grammar Note

    "Urgente" is the same adjective as in "correo urgente" (express post); it means needing quick action or resolution. The noun for the emergency itself is "la emergencia"

43. Lléveme al hospital, por favor

    Please take me to a hospital

    Usage

    Ask a taxi driver or a bystander to take you to a hospital

    Grammar Note

    "Llevar" can mean accompanying or guiding a person to a given place. As in "Ayúdeme", attaching the object pronoun "me" to the imperative shifts the stress and requires the written accent

44. Me han apuñalado

    I was stabbed

    Usage

    Report to the police or paramedics that you were stabbed with a blade; the verb is not the one in "Me ha picado un insecto", which is for an insect sting

    Grammar Note

    The same third-person-plural construction as "Me han pegado" and "Me han robado", filled with "apuñalar". It means "dar puñaladas" (to deal dagger blows), a different verb from "picar", which is what insects and animals do

45. Ha habido un accidente de tráfico

    There has been a traffic accident

    Usage

    Tell 112 or the people around you that a road accident has happened

    Grammar Note

    "Ha habido un accidente" followed by "de tráfico". "Tráfico" is the circulation of people and vehicles by land, sea or air. "Accidente de tráfico" is the usual form in Spain; Latin America also widely says "accidente de tránsito"

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