النَّجْدَة!
An-najda!
Help!
Usage
Shouted in emergencies. "Musāʿada" (help/assistance) is another term for seeking help.
Grammar Note
"Najda" comes from root n-j-d (highland/rescue). It is the standard Arabic cry for help in emergencies.
اتَّصِلْ بِالإِسْعَاف مِنْ فَضْلِك
Ittaṣil bil-isʿāf min faḍlak
Please call an ambulance
Usage
Used to ask someone nearby to call an ambulance in a medical emergency. Ambulances are reached on the unified number 911 (or 997, the Saudi Red Crescent, in regions without a 911 centre).
Grammar Note
"Ittaṣil" is the Form VIII masculine imperative (to call/contact). "Isʿāf" comes from s-ʿ-f (urgent help). | Saudi emergency numbers: the unified number is 911 (run by the National Center for Security Operations, which routes calls to police, ambulance and civil defence). In regions without a 911 centre, dial the services directly: police 999, ambulance 997 (Saudi Red Crescent), fire/civil defence 998.
أَنَا مَرِيض / مَرِيضَة
Anā marīḍ / marīḍa
I am sick
Usage
Basic phrase to express illness. Males say "marīḍ," females say "marīḍa."
Grammar Note
"Marīḍ" functions as both adjective (sick) and noun (patient). It derives from root m-r-ḍ.
أَيْنَ أَقْرَبُ مُسْتَشْفَى؟
Ayna aqrabu mustashfā?
Where is the nearest hospital?
Usage
Critical phrase for finding urgent medical care.
Grammar Note
"Aqrabu" is the elative (superlative/comparative) of "qarīb" (near). "Mustashfā" is Form X verbal noun, "a place where healing is sought."
سُرِقَتْ حَقِيبَتِي
Suriqat ḥaqībatī
My bag was stolen
Usage
Used to report a theft to the police or hotel staff.
Grammar Note
"Suriqa" is the passive voice. Since "ḥaqība" (bag) is feminine, the verb takes the feminine past marker "-at."
أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى طَبِيب
Aḥtāju ilā ṭabīb
I need a doctor
Usage
Used when medical attention is needed. Say this to hotel staff or bystanders.
Grammar Note
"Aḥtāju ilā" is Form VIII meaning "to need." "Ilā" is a preposition of direction/purpose.
عِنْدِي أَلَم فِي الصَّدْر
ʿIndī alam fī aṣ-ṣadr
I have chest pain
Usage
Important symptom phrase. Replace "aṣ-ṣadr" with "al-baṭn" (abdomen) or "ar-raʾs" (head) as needed.
Grammar Note
"ʿIndī + noun" expresses possession or symptoms. "Alam fī..." means "pain in..." and is a useful template.
اتَّصِلْ بِالشُّرْطَة
Ittaṣil bishshurṭa
Call the police
Usage
Used to ask someone to call the police in case of crime or danger. The police are reached on the unified number 911 (or 999 in regions without a 911 centre).
Grammar Note
"Shurṭa" (police) derives from a root meaning "conditions/stipulations," extended to those who enforce rules. | Saudi emergency numbers: the unified number is 911 (run by the National Center for Security Operations, which routes calls to police, ambulance and civil defence). In regions without a 911 centre, dial the services directly: police 999, ambulance 997 (Saudi Red Crescent), fire/civil defence 998.
ضَيَّعْتُ جَوَازَ سَفَرِي
Ḍayyaʿtu jawāza safarī
I lost my passport
Usage
Important phrase to report a lost passport to the embassy or police.
Grammar Note
"Jawāzu safar" is iḍāfa for "permit of travel = passport." "Ḍayyaʿa" is Form II emphasizing the action of losing.
أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مُتَرْجِم
Aḥtāju ilā mutarjim
I need an interpreter
Usage
Used at police stations or hospitals when language assistance is needed.
Grammar Note
"Mutarjim" is the active participle of Form II verb "tarjama" (to translate). The root t-r-j-m relates to "Targum" (biblical translation).
أَيْنَ السَّفَارَة الْيَابَانِيَّة؟
Ayna as-safāra al-yābāniyya?
Where is the Japanese embassy?
Usage
Used in serious situations like passport loss or major legal trouble, to locate the embassy.
Grammar Note
"As-safāra" is feminine, so the adjective "al-yābāniyya" uses the feminine form. Nationality adjectives follow the same gender agreement rule.
تَوَقَّفْ!
tawaqqaf!
Stop it!
Usage
A blunt stop-that to halt what someone is doing — shown without speaking to a pushy tout or someone touching you
لَا تَلْمِسْنِي!
lā talmisnī!
Do not touch me!
Usage
Refuses someone who is touching you; deliberately not softened so the refusal reads as firm
حريق
Ḥarīq
Fire
Usage
A building or place on fire; the element fire itself is the separate word nār
لص
Liṣṣ
Thief
Usage
Names the person who steals; the plural is luṣūṣ
سطو
Saṭw
Robbery
Usage
The legal term for taking property by force or threat; armed robbery is saṭw musallaḥ
سرقة الحقائب
Sariqat al-ḥaqāʾib
Snatching
Usage
Snatching someone's bag; pickpocketing, done without the victim noticing, is the separate word nashl
نشال
Nashshāl
Pickpocket
Usage
The person who picks pockets; the act itself is nashl
اختطاف
Ikhtiṭāf
Kidnapping
Usage
Taking a person away by force; the same word also covers hijacking a vehicle
قتل
Qatl
Murder
Usage
The act of killing a person; premeditated murder is specified as qatl ʿamd
شغب
Shaghab
Riot
Usage
Violent civil disorder by a crowd; newspapers usually write it as aʿmāl shaghab
قنبلة
Qunbula
Bomb
Usage
Shown to report a suspicious package or explosive; the same word also covers a grenade
أَيْنَ مَرْكَز الشُّرْطَة؟
Ayna markaz ash-shurṭa?
Where is the police station?
Usage
Asking where the police station is, to file a report after a theft or an accident
Grammar Note
The "Ayna + definite noun phrase?" frame ("where is X?"), the same one as "Ayna as-safara al-yabaniyya?". "Markaz ash-shurta" is an idafa (genitive construct) meaning "station of the police", i.e. the building; the institution alone is just "ash-shurta".
اتَّصِلْ بِسَيَّارَة الإِطْفَاء مِنْ فَضْلِك
Ittaṣil bi-sayyārat al-iṭfāʾ min faḍlak
Please call a fire engine
Usage
Asking bystanders to call a fire engine when you have found a fire
Grammar Note
The same "Ittasil bi… min fadlak" frame as "Ittasil bil-isʿaf min fadlak" ("Please call an ambulance"), filled with the word of "sayyara itfaʾ" (fire engine) in a definite genitive construct. In the construct state the final ta marbuta of "sayyara" is read "-at", as in "Sariqat al-haqaʾib".
هَلْ يُوجَدُ مَنْ يَتَحَدَّثُ الْيَابَانِيَّة؟
Hal yūjadu man yataḥaddathu al-yābāniyya?
Is there anyone who speaks Japanese?
Usage
Used at a hospital or a police station to look for a Japanese speaker when you cannot explain yourself
Grammar Note
The "Hal yujadu …?" frame ("is there …?"), the same one as "Hal yujadu way fay?". "Man" is the relative pronoun "the one who"; "yatahaddathu" is the third-person masculine singular of tahaddatha, the same verb as in "Hal tatahaddathu al-ingliziyya?". "Al-yabaniyya" is the same word as in "as-safara al-yabaniyya", used here as the name of the language.
سُرِقَتْ مِحْفَظَتِي
Suriqat miḥfaẓatī
My wallet was stolen
Usage
Used when reporting the theft to the police or raising the alarm on the spot
Grammar Note
The same frame as "Suriqat haqibati" ("My bag was stolen"), with "haqiba" (bag) replaced by "mihfaza" (wallet). Both are feminine nouns, so the passive verb "suriqat" keeps the same form. The final "-i" is the possessive suffix "my".
انْتَبِهْ!
Intabih!
Watch out!
Usage
Shouted to warn someone of immediate danger; this is the form used to a man, "intabihi" to a woman
هَلْ يُمْكِنُكَ أَنْ تَأْخُذَنِي إِلَى الْمُسْتَشْفَى؟
Hal yumkinuka an taʾkhudhanī ilā al-mustashfā?
Please take me to a hospital
Usage
Asking a taxi driver or a bystander to take you to a hospital when you cannot get there yourself; this is the form addressed to a man
Grammar Note
The request frame "Hal yumkinuka an …?" of "Hal yumkinuka an taʾkhudha lana sura?" ("Could you take a photo for us?"), with "taʾkhudhani" — the same object suffix "-ni" ("me") as in "La talmisni!". Arabic phrases polite requests as questions.
اتَّجِهْ إِلَى مَخْرَجِ الطَّوَارِئ
Ittajih ilā makhraji ṭ-ṭawāriʾ
Please head to the emergency exit
Usage
Telling the people around you to make for the emergency exit during a fire or an earthquake; this is the form addressed to a man
Grammar Note
The imperative "Ittajih" of ittajaha, the same verb as "Ittajih yasaran" ("Turn left"), joined by "ila" to "makhraj at-tawariʾ" (the emergency exit). The definite genitive construct here denotes the same thing as the bare sign form "makhraj tawariʾ"; because the genitive "-i" is written on the first term, the following article loses its hamzat al-waṣl in pronunciation, giving "makhraji ṭ-ṭawāriʾ".
حَدَثَ حَادِث مُرُور
Ḥadatha ḥādith murūr
There has been a traffic accident
Usage
Tell an emergency line or the people around you that a road accident has happened
Grammar Note
The "ḥadatha ḥādith" ("an accident happened") of "حدث حادث — يرجى الاتصال بدورية الإنقاذ على الجبل.", followed by the genitive "murūr" (traffic, passage), the same word as in "هل هناك طرق برسوم مرور على هذا الطريق؟" (toll roads). "حادث مرور" is what happens when a vehicle strikes another vehicle, a pedestrian, an animal or a fixed obstacle, and "حادث السير" is a synonym. Vowel marks are written; final case endings are left off in pausal form.
هَذِهِ حَالَة طَوَارِئ
Hādhihi ḥālat ṭawāriʾ
It's an emergency
Usage
Telling the person in front of you, in one phrase, that this cannot wait its turn
Grammar Note
The "hadhihi + noun phrase" equational sentence ("هذه حقيبة اليد"), filled with "halat" ("ما هو التيار / حالة المد والجزر اليوم؟") and "tawariʾ" ("مخرج طوارئ") joined as a genitive construct. In the construct state the final ta marbuta of "hala" is read "-at", as in "Sariqat al-haqaʾib".
أَسْرِعْ مِنْ فَضْلِك
Asriʿ min faḍlak
Please hurry
Usage
Urging someone to hurry, for instance an ambulance crew or a driver; this is the form addressed to a man
Grammar Note
The "<imperative> + min fadlak" request frame ("اتَّصِلْ بِالإِسْعَاف مِنْ فَضْلِك"), filled with "Asriʿ", the form IV imperative of "asraʿa". أسرع means "to hurry, to rush". Note that the أسرع in "هل يوجد اتصال أسرع؟" has the same consonants but is the elative of "sariʿ" ("faster"), a different word.
صَدَمَتْنِي سَيَّارَة
Ṣadamatnī sayyāra
I was hit by a car
Usage
Telling paramedics or the police on the spot that a car has struck you
Grammar Note
Arabic puts the verb first, so the literal reading is "a car struck me". The first-person object suffix "-nī" is the one in "لَا تَلْمِسْنِي!" and "تَأْخُذَنِي", and "sayyāra" is the word in "سيارة إطفاء". صَدَمَ means "to strike, to bump, to knock, to hit"; an example is "كَادَتِ السَّيَّارَةُ تَصْدِمُنِي" ("the car was about to hit me").
أُرِيدُ الإِبْلَاغ عَنْ سَرِقَة
Urīdu al-iblāgh ʿan sariqa
I want to report a theft
Usage
Said at a police station counter when you want to file a report of a theft
Grammar Note
The same frame as "أريد الإبلاغ عن خدش / ضرر في السيارة." ("I want to report a scratch or damage to the car"), with "khadsh / darar" replaced by "sariqa" (theft), the word in "سرقة الحقائب".
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