No one plans to have an emergency, especially when traveling. But knowing a few key words in Spanish can make a critical difference in a stressful situation. This vocabulary list covers the essential terms you'll need to ask for help, describe a problem, and communicate with police, doctors, or firefighters in Latin America. From shouting `¡Ayuda!` to finding a `farmacia`, these words are your safety net. You'll notice many of these words are cognates, meaning they look and sound similar to their English counterparts, like `emergencia`, `hospital`, and `policía`. This makes them easy to remember when you need them most. We've focused on the most common vocabulary used in Latin America. For example, you'll learn `celular` for "cell phone," which is more common than `móvil` (used in Spain). Mastering these simple but powerful words will give you confidence to handle unexpected situations during your travels.
Help!
¡Ayuda! Necesito un médico. — Help! I need a doctor.
I need help.
Por favor, necesito ayuda. Estoy perdido. — Please, I need help. I'm lost.
emergency
Tengo una emergencia. — I have an emergency.
Careful! / Watch out!
¡Cuidado! El piso está mojado. — Watch out! The floor is wet.
danger
Es una zona de mucho peligro. — It's a very dangerous area.
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police
Llama a la policía, por favor. — Call the police, please.
firefighter
Los bomberos apagan el fuego. — The firefighters put out the fire.
doctor
El médico está en el hospital. — The doctor is at the hospital.
hospital
¿Dónde está el hospital más cercano? — Where is the nearest hospital?
ambulance
La ambulancia llega rápido. — The ambulance is arriving quickly.
pharmacy
Necesito ir a la farmacia por medicina. — I need to go to the pharmacy for medicine.
accident
Hay un accidente en la carretera. — There is an accident on the road.
fire
¡Hay fuego en la cocina! — There's fire in the kitchen!
I feel sick.
No puedo comer, me siento mal. — I can't eat, I feel sick.
My... hurts.
Me duele la cabeza mucho. — My head hurts a lot.
I'm lost.
No tengo mapa y estoy perdida. — I don't have a map and I'm lost.
I was robbed. (They robbed me.)
Me robaron el celular en la calle. — They stole my cell phone on the street.
to call
Necesito llamar a mi familia. — I need to call my family.
telephone
¿Cuál es el número de teléfono de la embajada? — What is the embassy's phone number?
cell phone
No tengo batería en mi celular. En España dicen 'móvil'. — I don't have battery in my cell phone. In Spain they say 'móvil'.
Where is...?
¿Dónde está la estación de policía? — Where is the police station?
address
Necesito la dirección del hospital. — I need the hospital's address.
exit
La salida de emergencia está a la derecha. — The emergency exit is to the right.
I don't understand.
Lo siento, no entiendo. ¿Puede repetir? — I'm sorry, I don't understand. Can you repeat?
I speak a little Spanish.
Hablo poco español. ¿Habla inglés? — I speak a little Spanish. Do you speak English?