Emergency

1. Hilfe!

   Help!

   Usage

   Shout to get help in an emergency

   Grammar Note

   The noun "Hilfe" is used exclamatorily. "Helfen Sie mir!" (Help me!) is another option

2. Rufen Sie bitte einen Krankenwagen

   Please call an ambulance

   Usage

   Request an ambulance in a medical emergency

   Grammar Note

   "Krankenwagen" is Kranken (sick) + Wagen (vehicle). Masculine noun, hence "einen" (accusative)

3. Ich wurde bestohlen

   I was robbed

   Usage

   Report theft to the police

   Grammar Note

   "Werden + past participle" forms the passive voice. "Bestehlen" means to rob someone

4. Ich brauche einen Arzt

   I need a doctor

   Usage

   Use when you are sick or injured and need medical attention

   Grammar Note

   "Arzt" is the masculine form; "Ärztin" is feminine. Accusative case, hence "einen"

5. Wo ist das nächste Krankenhaus?

   Where is the nearest hospital?

   Usage

   Find the nearest hospital in an emergency

   Grammar Note

   "Krankenhaus" combines Kranken (sick) + Haus (house). It's neuter, hence "das"

6. Rufen Sie die Polizei!

   Call the police!

   Usage

   Shout for someone to call the police in a dangerous or criminal situation

   Grammar Note

   German emergency numbers: police 110, fire brigade and ambulance 112

7. Ich habe meinen Reisepass verloren

   I have lost my passport

   Usage

   Report a lost passport to the police or your country's embassy

   Grammar Note

   "Verloren" is the past participle of verlieren (to lose). Reisepass = Reise (trip) + Pass

8. Wo ist die nächste Apotheke?

   Where is the nearest pharmacy?

   Usage

   Find a pharmacy to purchase medicine or get first aid advice

   Grammar Note

   "Apotheke" is a licensed pharmacy (with prescription drugs), unlike "Drogerie" (drugstore)

9. Ich bin Diabetiker/Diabetikerin

   I am diabetic

   Usage

   Communicate a medical condition to emergency services or healthcare providers

   Grammar Note

   You can also say "Ich habe Diabetes" (I have diabetes) for the same meaning

10. Ich wurde gebissen

    I was bitten

    Usage

    Report an animal or insect bite to a doctor or emergency services

    Grammar Note

    "Werden + past participle" forms the passive. "Gebissen" is the past participle of beißen (to bite)

11. Hören Sie auf!

    Stop it!

    Usage

    Shown to firmly refuse a pushy tout, a scam, or an unsafe person without having to speak

    Grammar Note

    "Aufhören" is separable, so "auf" goes to the end. The blunter one-word form is "Aufhören!" It is deliberately firm — softening it would defeat the purpose

12. Fassen Sie mich nicht an!

    Don't touch me!

    Usage

    Shown to clearly refuse unwanted physical contact without having to speak

    Grammar Note

    "Anfassen" is separable, so "an" goes to the end. A shorter form is "Nicht anfassen!"

13. der Brand

    Fire

    Usage

    Point to this to report a building or forest fire; the flame itself is "das Feuer"

    Grammar Note

    Masculine noun glossed as an uncontrolled, damaging fire, as distinct from a fire in a stove or hearth

14. der Dieb

    Thief

    Usage

    Names the person who stole; the act itself is "der Diebstahl"

    Grammar Note

    Masculine noun; the feminine is "die Diebin". Glossed as someone who secretly takes another person's property

15. der Raub

    Robbery

    Usage

    Distinguishes being robbed by force or threat from "der Diebstahl", which is taking something unnoticed

    Grammar Note

    Masculine noun. Section 249 of the German penal code defines it as taking another person's movable property by force or by threatening imminent danger to life or limb

16. der Handtaschenraub

    Snatching

    Usage

    For having a bag torn off you in the street. German names this crime around the handbag, so for other belongings "der Raub" is the safer word

    Grammar Note

    Masculine compound of "Handtasche" (handbag) and "Raub" (robbery), glossed as robbing someone of a handbag in the open street

17. der Taschendieb

    Pickpocket

    Usage

    Names someone who lifts things from pockets and bags in a crowd

    Grammar Note

    Masculine compound of "Tasche" (pocket, bag) and "Dieb" (thief); the feminine is "die Taschendiebin"

18. die Entführung

    Kidnapping

    Usage

    Point to this to report that someone has been taken away

    Grammar Note

    Feminine noun glossed as removing a person from their own surroundings against their will, using force or the threat of force

19. der Mord

    Murder

    Usage

    Point to this to report that someone has been killed

    Grammar Note

    Masculine noun glossed as a deliberate, premeditated killing. German law reserves "Mord" for an intentional killing with aggravating circumstances and calls the rest "Totschlag"

20. die Ausschreitungen

    Riot

    Usage

    For a crowd that has turned violent; German normally uses the plural in this sense. A peaceful protest march is "die Demonstration"

    Grammar Note

    Plural of the feminine noun "die Ausschreitung", glossed as a violent disturbance of public order; this sense is mostly used in the plural. German criminal law names the offence "Landfriedensbruch" (Penal Code § 125), but that is the statutory term rather than the everyday word

21. die Bombe

    Bomb

    Usage

    Point to this to report an explosive device

    Grammar Note

    Feminine noun; it also has a volcanic ejecta sense and a domed ice-cream dessert sense, so show it on its own only in an emergency context

22. Feuer! Gehen Sie sofort hinaus!

    Fire! Get out at once!

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    "Feuer" is the noun for the light and heat given off by burning, and it doubles as the shouted fire alarm. "Gehen Sie" is the "Sie" imperative, and "hinaus" is the adverb for movement from inside to outside

23. Ein Dieb! Halten Sie ihn!

    Thief! Catch him!

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    German also has the old cry "Haltet den Dieb!", but that is the "ihr" imperative; this card uses the "Sie" imperative

24. Rufen Sie bitte die Feuerwehr

    Please call the fire brigade

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    German calls for the service rather than the vehicle. Fire and ambulance are both on 112

25. Wo ist die nächste Polizeiwache?

    Where is the nearest police station?

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    "Polizeiwache" is the lowest-level police office responsible for a given area — the building and its staff, as distinct from the force itself ("die Polizei")

26. Ich möchte eine Anzeige wegen Diebstahls erstatten

    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

    "Anzeige erstatten" is the set phrase for filing a report with the authorities. The preposition "wegen" governs the genitive, hence "Diebstahls". "Diebstahl" shares its root with "Dieb" and means the secret removal of another's property

27. Gibt es jemanden, der Japanisch spricht?

    Is there anyone who speaks Japanese?

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    A relative-clause frame; the finite verb goes to the end of the relative clause. "Japanisch" shares its root with "Japaner" and means the language spoken in Japan

28. Diese Person ist bewusstlos

    This person is unconscious

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    "Bewusstlos" means fainted or without consciousness. "Person" is a feminine noun used of people of any gender, so the sentence works whoever the casualty is

29. Jemand ertrinkt! Hilfe!

    Someone is drowning

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    "ertrinken" means going under in water or another liquid and dying as a result; "ertrinkt" is its third-person singular present

30. Ich wurde geschlagen

    I was beaten

    Usage

    Report to the police or a doctor that you were assaulted

    Grammar Note

    A "werden + past participle" passive. "Schlagen" means striking a person or animal with a quick, aimed movement, especially with the hand

31. Ich wurde niedergestochen

    I was stabbed

    Usage

    Report to the emergency services or the police that you were wounded with a blade

    Grammar Note

    A "werden + past participle" passive. "Niederstechen" means wounding someone with a blade so that they go down (and die). The near-synonym "erstechen" means stabbing someone to death, so a surviving victim says "niedergestochen"

32. In mein Zimmer wurde eingebrochen

    My room was broken into

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    "Einbrechen" is intransitive, so its passive is impersonal — there is no subject and the "in + accusative" phrase opens the sentence. It means forcing one's way in so as to steal

33. Diese Person ist der Täter

    That person is the culprit

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    "Täter" means someone who has committed a criminal offence. It is a masculine noun whose feminine is "die Täterin"; the general masculine is kept here even though the subject "Person" is grammatically feminine

34. Ich wurde betrogen

    I was deceived

    Usage

    Report that you were scammed or cheated

    Grammar Note

    A "werden + past participle" passive. The first sense of "betrügen" is deliberately and deceitfully misleading someone, and a separate sense covers financial fraud. The same verb also means being unfaithful to a partner, so show it in a police or shop context

35. Meine Brieftasche wurde gestohlen

    My wallet was stolen

    Usage

    Report to the police that your wallet was stolen

    Grammar Note

    A "werden + past participle" passive; "bestohlen" takes the victim as its subject, while "gestohlen" takes the stolen object. "Stehlen" means taking another's property secretly and unlawfully

36. Ich habe etwas liegen lassen

    I left it behind

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    The first sense of "liegen lassen" is leaving something behind by mistake and forgetting to take it. It differs from losing something in that you know where you left it

37. Ich wurde von einem Auto angefahren

    I was hit by a car

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    A "werden + von + dative" passive. One sense of "anfahren" is grazing or ramming a person with a vehicle, which is the sense used here

38. Bitte benutzen Sie den Notausgang

    Please escape through the emergency exit

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    "Notausgang" is exactly the wording of the sign posted in German buildings. The object is accusative, so "der" becomes "den"

39. Vorsicht!

    Watch out!

    Usage

    Shown to warn someone of an immediate hazard without having to speak; it is also the wording on German warning signs

    Grammar Note

    A feminine noun meaning careful, hazard-avoiding, watchful behaviour. It shares its root with the adjective "vorsichtig" and stands alone as a shouted warning

40. Bitte beeilen Sie sich

    Please hurry

    Usage

    Ask someone to hurry when time matters

    Grammar Note

    The "Sie" imperative of the reflexive verb "sich beeilen", meaning to hurry or get a move on. The reflexive pronoun follows the subject "Sie"

41. Bitte kommen Sie sofort

    Please come right away

    Usage

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

42. Es ist dringend

    It's an emergency

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    The "Es ist + adjective" frame. The first sense of "dringend" is urgent and important

43. Bitte bringen Sie mich ins Krankenhaus

    Please take me to a hospital

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    A "Sie" imperative. "Ins" (in + das) is accusative because it expresses direction

44. Es gab einen Verkehrsunfall.

    There has been a traffic accident

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    The "Es gab einen + noun" frame filled with the compound "Verkehrsunfall" (traffic accident), built as "Verkehr" + linking "-s" + "Unfall": an occurrence in traffic that results in damage to property and/or to persons. "Es gab" takes the accusative, hence "einen"

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