These phrases will help you in case of a medical emergency, theft, loss, fire, or—if you’re a woman—harassment. To phone for help in Germany or Austria, dial 112 for police or medical emergencies. In Switzerland, dial 112 for medical emergencies or 117 for police. If you’re lost, see the phrases SEE HERE.
| Help! | Hilfe! hil-feh |
| Help me, please. | Helfen Sie mir, bitte. hehl-fehn zee meer bit-teh |
| emergency | Notfall noht-fahl |
| accident | Unfall oon-fahl |
| clinic / hospital | Klinik / Krankenhaus klee-nik / krahn-kehn-hows |
| Call... | Rufen Sie... roo-fehn zee |
| ...a doctor. | ...einen Arzt. ī-nehn artst |
| ...the police. | ...die Polizei. dee poh-leet-sī |
| ...an ambulance. | ...einen Krankenwagen. ī-nehn krahnk-ehn-vah-gehn |
| I need / We need... | Ich muss / Wir müssen... ikh moos / veer mew-sehn |
| ...to get to the doctor. | ...zum Arzt. tsoom artst |
| ...to go to the hospital. | ...ins Krankenhaus. ins krahn-kehn-hows |
| It’s urgent. | Es ist dringend. ehs ist dring-ehnt |
| injured | verletzt fehr-lehtst |
| blood | Blut bloot |
| choking | erstickt ehr-shtikt |
| unconscious | bewusstlos beh-voost-lohs |
| isn’t breathing | atmet nicht aht-meht nikht |
| Thank you for your help. | Danke für Ihre Hilfe. dahn-keh fewr ee-reh hil-feh |
| You are very kind. | Sie sind sehr freundlich. zee zint zehr froynd-likh |
For other health-related words, see the Personal Care and Health chapter.
To replace a passport, you’ll need to go in person to your embassy (SEE HERE). Cancel and replace your credit and debit cards by calling your credit-card company (as of this printing, these are the 24-hour US numbers that you can call collect: Visa—tel. 303/967-1096, MasterCard—tel. 636/722-7111, American Express—tel. 336/393-1111). If you’ll want to submit an insurance claim for lost or stolen gear, be sure to file a police report, either on the spot or within a day or two. For more info, see www.ricksteves.com/help. Precautionary measures can minimize the effects of loss—back up your photos and other files frequently.
| fire | Feuer foy-ehr |
| smoke | Rauch rowkh |
| exit | Ausgang ows-gahng |
| emergency exit | Notausgang noht-ows-gahng |
| fire extinguisher | Feuerlöscher foy-ehr-lur-shehr |
| Call the fire department. | Rufen Sie die Feuerwehr. roo-fehn zee dee foy-ehr-vehr |
The word Not, which you’ll see everywhere, does not mean “not.” It means emergency (literally “need”). You might see Notruf (emergency call), im Notfall (in case of emergency), Notausgang (emergency exit), and so on. That last one can be especially confusing. If you know the word for exit is Ausgang, you might think Notausgang means “not exit”—when, in fact, in an emergency you’d do exactly the opposite.
Generally the best way to react to unwanted attention is loudly and quickly.
| No! | Nein! nīn |
| Stop it! | Hören Sie auf! hur-ehn zee owf |
| Stop it! (less polite) | Hör auf! hur owf |
| Knock it off! | Lassen Sie das! lah-sehn zee dahs |
| Enough! | Das reicht! dahs rīkht |
| Don’t touch me. | Fassen Sie mich nicht an. fah-sehn zee mikh nikht ahn |
| Leave me alone. | Lassen Sie mich in Ruhe. lah-sehn zee mikh in roo-heh |
| Go away. | Gehen Sie weg. gay-ehn zee vayg |
| Get lost! | Hau ab! how ahp |
| Get lost! | Verschwinde! fehr-shvin-deh |
| Police! | Polizei! poh-leet-sī |
If a guy is bugging you, approach a friendly-looking couple, family, or business for a place to stay safe.
| A man is bothering me. | Ein Mann belästigt mich. īn mahn beh-lehs-tigt mikh |
| May I...? | Darf ich...? darf ikh |
| ...join you | ...mich zu Ihnen setzen mikh tsoo ee-nehn zeht-sehn |
| ...sit here | ...mich setzen mikh zeht-sehn |
| ...wait here until he’s gone | ...hier warten bis er fort ist heer var-tehn bis ehr fort ist |