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Lesson 10 of 10

Help and emergencies in Spanish

The words you hope to never need. Play the ten Spanish words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.

The arcades and balconies around the Plaza Mayor in Madrid
Help and emergencies
10 words · 20 seconds each · 8 of 10 to pass
What it meansHow to say it
Suicasmo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

All 10 Spanish phrases in this lesson

¡Socorro!soh-KOH-rroh
Help!

The emergency shout. For a calm request, "¿me puede ayudar?" (can you help me?) does the everyday work.

Llame a un médicoYAH-meh ah oon MEH-dee-koh
Call a doctor

The European emergency number 112 works throughout Spain and operators handle English. An ambulance is "una ambulancia".

Policíapoh-lee-THEE-ah
Police

Spain has several forces: Policía Nacional, Guardia Civil, and local police. For a tourist report any of them will do, and big cities have stations used to foreign visitors.

Farmaciafar-MAH-thyah
Pharmacy

Marked with a green cross, on practically every block. Spanish pharmacists can advise on minor ailments and sell many things over the counter that need prescriptions elsewhere.

Hospitalohs-pee-TAHL
Hospital

The h is silent. "Urgencias" (oor-HEHN-thyahs) marks the emergency room entrance.

Estoy perdidoehs-TOY pehr-DEE-doh
I'm lost

Perdida if you are a woman. Follow with your hotel name or a map on your phone; Spaniards will often walk you partway rather than just point.

No me encuentro biennoh meh ehn-KWEHN-troh byehn
I don't feel well

Useful at a pharmacy counter. Point at what hurts and add "me duele" (meh DWEH-leh), it hurts me: "me duele aquí" plus pointing is a complete medical history.

Me lo han robadomeh loh ahn roh-BAH-doh
It was stolen

Combine with the previous item: "mi móvil, me lo han robado". Pickpocketing is the one real risk in Barcelona and Madrid crowds, keep bags zipped and in front.

Es una emergenciaehs OO-nah eh-mehr-HEHN-thyah
It's an emergency

The emergency number is 112.

Déjeme en pazDEH-heh-meh ehn pahth
Leave me alone

Literally "leave me in peace".

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