Emergency

1. Socorro!

   Help!

   Usage

   Shout for help in an emergency

   Grammar Note

   Same word as Spanish. Emergency number in Portugal is 112 (European standard)

2. Chame uma ambulância, por favor

   Please call an ambulance

   Usage

   Request an ambulance in a medical emergency

   Grammar Note

   "Chame" is the formal imperative of chamar (to call). "Ambulância" is feminine

3. Fui roubado / roubada

   I was robbed

   Usage

   Report theft to the police

   Grammar Note

   Passive: ser + past participle. The participle agrees with the subject's gender

4. Preciso de um médico

   I need a doctor

   Usage

   Use when sick or injured and needing medical attention

   Grammar Note

   "Precisar de" means to need. "Médico" is masculine; "médica" is feminine

5. Onde é o hospital mais próximo?

   Where is the nearest hospital?

   Usage

   Find the nearest hospital in an emergency

   Grammar Note

   "Mais + adjective" forms the superlative. "Próximo" means near/close. Hospital is masculine

6. Ligue para o 112

   Call 112

   Usage

   Direct someone to call Portugal's emergency number 112

   Grammar Note

   "Ligar" means to call/connect. 112 is the pan-European emergency number, including Portugal

7. Perdi o meu passaporte

   I lost my passport

   Usage

   Report a lost passport to the police or embassy

   Grammar Note

   "Perdi" is the first person preterite of perder (to lose). "Passaporte" is masculine

8. Tenho dores no peito

   I have chest pain

   Usage

   Tell medical staff about chest pain — a serious medical symptom

   Grammar Note

   "Dor" (pain) pluralizes to "dores." "Peito" (chest) is masculine. Critical phrase for cardiac emergencies

9. Sou alérgico a penicilina

   I am allergic to penicillin

   Usage

   Inform medical staff of a penicillin allergy — potentially life-saving

   Grammar Note

   "Alérgico" (masc.) / "alérgica" (fem.) agrees with the speaker. Replace "penicilina" with any medication

10. Preciso de um intérprete

    I need an interpreter

    Usage

    Request an interpreter at the police station or hospital

    Grammar Note

    "Intérprete" is the same for both genders. Essential phrase for accurate communication in emergencies

11. Pare com isso!

    Stop it!

    Usage

    Show the screen without speaking to shut down a pushy tout, a scam, or harassment

12. Não me toque!

    Do not touch me!

    Usage

    Show it to someone touching you; holding it up also lets bystanders see what is happening

13. Chame a polícia!

    Call the police!

    Usage

    Show it to bystanders so they call for you; the emergency number is 190 in Brazil and 112 in Portugal

14. o incêndio

    Fire

    Usage

    Point to this to report a fire in a building or on land; it is glossed as an unwanted fire in a building or an area of land, unlike "o fogo" for the flame itself

15. o ladrão

    Thief

    Usage

    Names the person who stole; the feminine is "a ladra"

16. o roubo

    Robbery

    Usage

    For being robbed with violence or a serious threat; taking something unnoticed is called "o furto" instead

17. o batedor de carteiras

    Pickpocket

    Usage

    Names someone who lifts wallets in a crowd. Slang alternatives are o carteirista in Portugal and o punguista in Brazil.

18. o sequestro

    Kidnapping

    Usage

    Point to this to report that someone has been taken away; glossed as the crime of depriving a person of their liberty and holding them somewhere removed

19. o assassinato

    Murder

    Usage

    Point to this to report that someone has been killed. It names a deliberate killing; one caused by negligence is called "o homicídio culposo"

20. o tumulto

    Riot

    Usage

    For a sudden agitation of a crowd; a peaceful protest march is "a manifestação"

21. a bomba

    Bomb

    Usage

    Point to this to report an explosive device. The same spelling also means a pump, so show it on its own only in an emergency context

22. o esticão

    Snatching

    Usage

    Show it when a bag was yanked away in the street: theft by violently pulling the object. It also means a hard pull; in Brazil o roubo is safer for reporting theft.

23. Fogo! Saia!

    Fire! Run!

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    “Fogo!”: the cry for a fire. Fogo also means destruction by combustion (= incêndio), so it can name the blaze itself. Incêndio names the event. Saia is the você imperative of sair, the same person as Chame and Pare.

24. Ladrão! Pare-o!

    Thief! Catch him!

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    “Ladrão”: thief. Transitive parar stops movement or progress. The imperative of Pare com isso! takes object pronoun o. Brazilian Pega ladrão! is familiar; here the polite imperative is used.

25. Chame os bombeiros, por favor

    Please call the fire brigade

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    Portuguese calls for the firefighters rather than the vehicle, in the same frame as «Chame uma ambulância, por favor». The number is 112 in Portugal and 193 in Brazil

26. Onde fica a delegacia de polícia?

    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 Onde fica + noun? pattern. Delegacia is Brazilian for a police post; the European synonym is esquadra. In Portugal say a esquadra da polícia. Examples: Onde fica a casa de banho acessível?

27. Quero apresentar queixa de roubo

    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

    “queixa”: a report to the authorities about an offence suffered. Roubo is the noun for robbery/theft. In Brazil the resulting document is o boletim de ocorrência; ask for that when you need the paper itself.

28. Tem alguém que fale japonês?

    Is there anyone who speaks Japanese?

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    Takes the "que fale + language" clause of «Tem algum médico que fale inglês?» and swaps the person being sought for "alguém". The relative clause is in the subjunctive ("fale", not "fala") because the person is not known to exist

29. Esta pessoa está inconsciente

    This person is unconscious

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    “inconsciente”: without consciousness. Estar rather than ser marks a temporary state. Pessoa is a feminine noun for people of any gender, so the sentence works for any casualty.

30. Alguém está a afogar-se! Socorro!

    Someone is drowning

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    “afogar”: to cause death under water. “afogar-se”: to drown. Progressive estar a + infinitive is European. Brazil says está se afogando. Socorro! is a cry for help. Examples: não está a funcionar; Socorro!

31. Fui agredido / agredida

    I was beaten

    Usage

    Report to the police or a doctor that you were assaulted

    Grammar Note

    The passive follows Fui roubado / roubada, choosing the participle for a male or female speaker. “agredir”: to commit assault or violence against someone.

32. Fui esfaqueado / esfaqueada

    I was stabbed

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    The same passive and dual participle convention as «Fui roubado / roubada». "Esfaquear" is glossed as wounding or slashing with a knife, and is built on "faca" (knife)

33. Entraram no meu quarto para roubar

    My room was broken into

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    An unnamed third-person plural subject reports what was done. Entrar means go in, sharing the root of entrada. Roubar is the verb in Fui roubado; quarto is a hotel room. Examples: Entrada; Fui roubado; Preciso de um quarto com recursos de acessibilidade.

34. Esta pessoa é o culpado / a culpada

    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

    “culpado”: one who has incurred guilt; an implicated, accused or criminal person. Ser rather than estar identifies the person, not a temporary state. Pessoa is feminine, but culpado agrees with the person’s gender. Examples: culpado / culpada; Fui roubado / roubada.

35. Fui enganado / enganada

    I was deceived

    Usage

    Report that you were scammed or overcharged

    Grammar Note

    The same passive and dual participle convention as «Fui roubado / roubada». "Enganar" is the verb already used in «Para de me enganar!»

36. A minha carteira foi roubada

    My wallet was stolen

    Usage

    Report to the police that your wallet was stolen

    Grammar Note

    The same passive as «Fui roubado / roubada», but with the stolen item rather than the victim as subject; the participle agrees with the feminine "carteira". "Carteira" is the same noun as in "batedor de carteiras" («o batedor de carteiras»). Note the regional split: Brazil normally drops the article before the possessive — "Minha carteira foi roubada"

37. Esqueci alguma coisa

    I left something behind

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    Esquecer can mean leaving something somewhere through forgetfulness or carelessness, distinct from slipping from memory. Unlike losing it, you know where you left it. Examples: Perdi o meu passaporte.

38. Fui atropelado / atropelada por um carro

    I was hit by a car

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    The passive follows Fui roubado / roubada, choosing the participle for a male or female speaker. “atropelar”: to knock someone down and pass over them, as a car hits a pedestrian. “carro”: car. Examples: Gostaria de alugar um carro por três dias.

39. Saia pela saída de emergência, por favor

    Please escape through the emergency exit

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    Saia is the você imperative of sair, sharing the root of saída. Saída de emergência means emergency exit and appears on building signs in Portuguese-speaking countries. Pela is por + a. Example: Fui parado pela polícia de trânsito. O que devo fazer?

40. Cuidado!

    Watch out!

    Usage

    Warn of an immediate hazard without speaking. Cuidado! is an interjection urging caution, as in Cuidado com as correntes!. The warning-sign noun o perigo (danger) is different.

41. Depressa, por favor

    Please hurry

    Usage

    Ask someone to hurry when time matters

    Grammar Note

    “Depressa”: briefly, without delay, quickly; used in Portugal and Brazil. The adverb alone can urge haste. Reflexive alternatives include apressar-se and despachar-se.

42. Venha agora mesmo, por favor

    Please come right away

    Usage

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

    Grammar Note

    Vir means moving to where the speaker is; this is its você imperative. Agora mesmo is an adverbial phrase.

43. Leve-me ao 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

    "Levar" is glossed as to transport and to lead, and is the verb for taking a person somewhere. As in «Ajude-me, por favor», the object pronoun is attached to the imperative with a hyphen. "Hospital" is the noun from «Onde é o hospital mais próximo?», and "ao" is the contraction of a + o

44. Houve um acidente de trânsito

    There has been a traffic accident

    Usage

    Report that a road accident has happened, to the emergency line or to bystanders. The emergency number in Portugal is 112

    Grammar Note

    Houve um acidente means "there has been an accident", with de trânsito for traffic. Trânsito is vehicle movement on public ways; acidente is an unexpected negative event causing damage, injury or death. European Portuguese also says acidente de viação. Examples: Houve um acidente — por favor chamem a patrulha de ski.; polícia de trânsito; Fui parado pela polícia de trânsito. O que devo fazer?

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