Situations · 16 phrases · 3 min read
Chinese for emergencies
Nobody plans to need this page. Short, clear sentences work better than polite ones when something has gone wrong, so every line here is as plain as it can be.
Getting help
救命jiùmìnghelp!
请帮帮我qǐng bāngbang wǒplease help me
我需要帮助wǒ xūyào bāngzhùI need help
有人会说英语吗yǒu rén huì shuō Yīngyǔ madoes anyone speak English?
The numbers to call
叫救护车jiào jiùhùchēcall an ambulanceThe number is 120.
叫警察jiào jǐngchácall the policeThe number is 110.
着火了zháohuǒ lethere's a fireThe number is 119.
请打一二零qǐng dǎ yāo èr língplease call 120In phone numbers 一 is said yāo, so it cannot be mistaken for 七.
Feeling unwell
我不舒服wǒ bù shūfuI don't feel well
我头疼wǒ tóuténgI have a headache
我要看医生wǒ yào kàn yīshēngI need to see a doctor
医院在哪儿yīyuàn zài nǎrwhere's the hospital?
Lost or stolen
我的护照丢了wǒ de hùzhào diū leI've lost my passport
我的钱包被偷了wǒ de qiánbāo bèi tōu lemy wallet has been stolen被 marks something done to you.
我迷路了wǒ mílù leI'm lost
请给大使馆打电话qǐng gěi dàshǐguǎn dǎ diànhuàplease call my embassy
What nobody tells you
Three numbers
In mainland China, 110 is the police, 120 is an ambulance, and 119 is the fire service. Save them in your phone before you travel, along with your embassy's number and your hotel's address in characters.
Show, do not guess
For anything medical, type it into a translation app and show the screen. Guessing at vocabulary you half remember is worse than admitting you do not have the words, and a pharmacist can read a screen faster than they can decode an accent.