Au secours !
Help!
Usage
Cry for help in an emergency situation
Grammar Note
"À l'aide!" is equally common for "Help!" — both are used in emergencies
Appelez le SAMU, s'il vous plaît
Please call an ambulance
Usage
Request an ambulance during a medical emergency
Grammar Note
SAMU is France's emergency medical service (call 15). Pompiers (fire brigade) is 18
J'ai été volé(e)
I've been robbed
Usage
Report theft or robbery to police or authorities
Grammar Note
The past participle agrees with the subject: volé (male speaker), volée (female speaker)
J'ai besoin d'un médecin
I need a doctor
Usage
Use when you are sick or injured and need medical attention
Grammar Note
"Avoir besoin de" is an idiomatic expression for needing something. Médecin = docteur
Où est l'hôpital le plus proche ?
Where is the nearest hospital?
Usage
Locate the nearest hospital in an emergency
Grammar Note
"Le plus + adjective" forms the superlative. "Proche" means close/near
Appelez la police, s'il vous plaît
Please call the police
Usage
Ask someone to call the police in a dangerous situation or after a crime
Grammar Note
French emergency numbers: police 17, fire brigade 18, ambulance 15, European emergency 112
J'ai perdu mon passeport
I have lost my passport
Usage
Report a lost passport to the police or your country's embassy
Grammar Note
"Perdu" is the past participle of perdre (to lose). Replace "passeport" with other lost items
Où est la pharmacie la plus proche ?
Where is the nearest pharmacy?
Usage
Find a pharmacy to buy medicine or get first aid supplies
Grammar Note
French pharmacies are marked by a green cross. Pharmacists can also give medical advice
Je me suis fait mordre
I have been bitten
Usage
Report an animal or insect bite to a doctor or authorities
Grammar Note
"Se faire + infinitive" expresses that something was done to you. In this construction the participle "fait" is invariable — it never agrees, even for a female speaker ("elle s'est fait mordre")
Je suis diabétique
I am diabetic
Usage
Communicate a medical condition to healthcare providers in an emergency
Grammar Note
"Diabétique" doesn't change by gender. Also useful: J'ai une allergie aux médicaments (I'm allergic to medication)
Arrêtez !
Stop it!
Usage
Shown to firmly refuse a pushy tout, a scam, or an unsafe person without having to speak
Grammar Note
The "vous" imperative. It is deliberately blunt — softening it would defeat the purpose
Ne me touchez pas !
Don't touch me!
Usage
Shown to clearly refuse unwanted physical contact without having to speak
Grammar Note
Negative imperative: ne + verb + pas, with the object pronoun "me" placed before the verb
l'incendie
Fire
Usage
Point to this to report a building or forest fire; a campfire or a flame itself is "le feu"
Grammar Note
Masculine noun; "le" elides to "l'" before the vowel
le voleur
Thief
Usage
Names the person who stole; the act or the loss itself is "le vol"
Grammar Note
Masculine noun; the feminine is "la voleuse". An agent noun built on "voler" (to steal)
le vol avec violence
Robbery
Usage
Distinguishes a theft carried out with force or threats from plain theft ("le vol"); if a weapon was used, say "le vol à main armée"
Grammar Note
The masculine noun "vol" (theft) qualified by "avec violence". French has no single noun for robbery; this phrasing or "vol qualifié" is used instead
le vol à l'arraché
Snatching
Usage
For a bag, phone, or piece of jewellery torn away from you by force
Grammar Note
"Vol" (theft) plus "à l'arraché" (by tearing it away). There is also a variant spelling "vol à l'arrachée", but use this form
le pickpocket
Pickpocket
Usage
Names someone who lifts things from pockets and bags in a crowd
Grammar Note
Masculine noun, a borrowing from English. The native phrase is "le voleur à la tire"
l'enlèvement
Kidnapping
Usage
Point to this to report that someone has been taken away
Grammar Note
Masculine noun elided to "l'"; "le rapt" and "le kidnapping" are used with the same meaning
le meurtre
Murder
Usage
Point to this to report that someone has been killed
Grammar Note
Masculine noun meaning "homicide volontaire" — a deliberate killing, as distinct from causing death by negligence
l'émeute
Riot
Usage
For a crowd that has turned violent; a peaceful protest march is "la manifestation"
Grammar Note
Feminine noun; "la" elides to "l'" before the vowel
la bombe
Bomb
Usage
Point to this to report an explosive device
Grammar Note
Feminine noun. Besides the explosive device it also means a round demijohn and, figuratively, a "bombshell", so show it on its own only in an emergency context
Au feu ! Sortez !
Fire! Run!
Usage
Shouted to warn people that there is a fire and to get them out
Grammar Note
"Au feu !" is a fixed cry for help raised during a fire; it uses the same à + le contraction as "Au secours !". "Sortez" is the "vous" imperative of sortir (to go out), the same root as the sign "Sortie"
Au voleur ! Arrêtez !
Thief! Catch him!
Usage
Shouted to alert bystanders and get them to stop a thief who is running away
Grammar Note
"Au voleur !" is a fixed cry for help raised against a thief. "Voleur" is the noun for a thief and "Arrêtez" is the "vous" imperative
Appelez les pompiers, s'il vous plaît
Please call the fire department
Usage
Ask someone to call the fire brigade for a fire or a rescue
Grammar Note
French calls for the service rather than the vehicle, the same way one asks for "le SAMU" (the emergency medical service) instead of an ambulance. The fire brigade is on 18
Où est le commissariat de police ?
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 "Où est + noun ?" pattern. "Commissariat" names the building and its offices, as distinct from the force itself ("la police"); in rural areas the equivalent is the "gendarmerie"
Je voudrais faire une déclaration de vol, s'il vous plaît
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
The police issue a "récépissé" (receipt) for the report, and that document serves as the proof of theft an insurer asks for. "Vol" is the noun for theft
Y a-t-il quelqu'un qui parle japonais ?
Is there anyone who speaks Japanese?
Usage
Look for someone who speaks Japanese at a hospital or a police station
Grammar Note
The inverted question "Y a-t-il … ?" (one can also say "Est-ce qu'il y a"). Language names take no article and stay lower-case
Cette personne a perdu connaissance
This person is unconscious
Usage
Tell the emergency services or bystanders that someone has collapsed and is not responsive
Grammar Note
"Perdre connaissance" is an idiom meaning to faint or fall into a coma; it takes no article. "Perdu" is the past participle of perdre. "Personne" is a feminine noun used for people of any gender, so the sentence works whoever the casualty is
Quelqu'un se noie ! Au secours !
Someone is drowning! Help!
Usage
Shouted to raise the alarm when someone is drowning at the beach or in a pool
Grammar Note
The pronominal verb "se noyer" means to die by immersion (drown); "se noie" is its third-person singular present. "Au secours !" is the cry for help
Je me suis fait frapper
I was beaten
Usage
Report to the police or a doctor that you were assaulted
Grammar Note
A "se faire + infinitive" passive; the participle "fait" is invariable and does not change for a female speaker. "Frapper" means to strike a person so as to hurt or injure them
Je me suis fait poignarder
I was stabbed
Usage
Report to the emergency services or the police that you were stabbed with a blade
Grammar Note
A "se faire + infinitive" passive. "Poignarder" means to strike someone with a dagger or a similar weapon, which covers knives generally
Ma chambre a été cambriolée
My room was broken into
Usage
Report that your hotel room or lodging was broken into while you were out
Grammar Note
The passive is formed with "être" plus the past participle, which agrees with the feminine subject "chambre", hence "cambriolée". "Cambrioler" means to strip a house or flat after breaking in
Cette personne est le coupable
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
"Coupable" means someone who has committed an offence and is held responsible for it before the law. "Personne" is a feminine noun used of people of any gender, so the sentence does not commit you to the culprit's gender
Je me suis fait arnaquer
I was deceived
Usage
Report that you were scammed or overcharged
Grammar Note
A "se faire + infinitive" passive. "Arnaquer" is an informal verb meaning to swindle or rip off
Je me suis fait voler mon portefeuille
My wallet was stolen
Usage
Report to the police that your wallet was stolen
Grammar Note
A "se faire + infinitive" passive, with the stolen item following the verb. "Voler" (to steal) is the root of "le voleur". "Portefeuille" is a billfold; a coin purse is "le porte-monnaie"
J'ai oublié quelque chose
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 main sense of "oublier" here is leaving something somewhere and not taking it, which is distinct from forgetting a fact. Where "J'ai perdu mon passeport" reports a loss, this reports something left behind
Il y a eu un accident de la route
There has been a traffic accident
Usage
Report a road accident to the emergency services or the police
Grammar Note
The frame "Il y a eu un accident" with "de la route" added ("accident de la route" is a road accident)
Je me suis fait renverser par une voiture
I was hit by a car
Usage
Report to the emergency services or the police that a car hit you
Grammar Note
A "se faire + infinitive" passive. "Renverser" means to knock someone down accidentally, and "se faire renverser par une voiture" is how to say being hit by a car
Prenez la sortie de secours, s'il vous plaît
Please escape through the emergency exit
Usage
Direct someone to the emergency exit when a building has to be evacuated
Grammar Note
A "Prenez la + noun" imperative. "Sortie de secours" is exactly the wording of the emergency-exit sign posted in French buildings
Attention !
Watch out!
Usage
The single word you shout to make someone aware of an immediate danger; it works spoken or shown. Warning signs often use the single word "Danger" instead
Grammar Note
The feminine noun "attention" used on its own as a warning, meaning "prenez garde !" (beware). It also appears in the elliptical "Attention à la marche !" for "Faites attention à la marche !". French puts a space before the exclamation mark
Dépêchez-vous, s'il vous plaît
Please hurry
Usage
Ask someone to hurry when time matters
Grammar Note
The "vous" imperative of the pronominal verb "se dépêcher", meaning to hurry or do something quickly. In the imperative the pronoun follows the verb with a hyphen, as in "Arrêtez-vous ici"
Venez tout de suite, s'il vous plaît
Please come right away
Usage
Ask someone, for example on the phone, to come immediately
Grammar Note
The "vous" imperative of "venir", meaning to go to where the speaker is. "Tout de suite" is the adverbial phrase for "right away"
C'est urgent
It's an emergency
Usage
Say that the matter cannot wait, for example when you are being asked to queue
Grammar Note
"Urgent" means something that must be dealt with without delay; it shares its root with the noun "urgence". "C'est + adjective" is the frame
Emmenez-moi à l'hôpital, s'il vous plaît
Please take me to a hospital
Usage
Ask a taxi driver or a bystander to take you to a hospital
Grammar Note
"Emmener" means to take a person with you from one place to another. In the imperative the object pronoun follows the verb with a hyphen, as in "Aidez-moi, s'il vous plaît"
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