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Daily lessons · Day 25 of 90

Getting help and emergencies

Ask for help when something goes wrong

This is the lesson you hope not to need, which is exactly why it should be learned before you need it. Nothing here is complicated, but under stress you will not construct sentences, you will reach for whatever is already automatic. Learn these as fixed phrases and practise saying them out loud until they need no thought.

Getting help now

Short, direct, and appropriate in a real emergency:

tasukete!
Help!
The て-form on its own, which is how it works when urgent.
kyūkyūsha o yonde kudasai.
Please call an ambulance.
きゅうきゅうしゃ ambulance. よびます to call.
keisatsu o yonde kudasai.
Please call the police.
Police 110, fire and ambulance 119.
byōin wa doko desu ka.
Where is the hospital?
Do not confuse びょういん hospital with びよういん hairdresser.
Why it works

Note that たすけて is the bare て-form with the ください dropped. In an emergency Japanese drops the politeness, and that is correct rather than rude. Everywhere else in this course you have been adding ください; this is the one place you should not.

Explaining what has happened

Enough to describe most problems:

saifu o nakushimashita.
I've lost my wallet.
なくします to lose. The past from day 22.
pasupōto o nakushimashita.
I've lost my passport.
Same pattern. Go to the police for a report.
densha ni wasuremashita.
I left it on the train.
わすれます to forget or leave behind. に marks where.
guai ga warui desu.
I feel unwell.
ぐあい condition, わるい bad. The standard phrase.
Why it works

ぐあいが わるいです is the phrase to use rather than trying to name a symptom. It covers everything from a headache to something serious, it is what a Japanese person would say, and it gets you to the right kind of help without needing vocabulary you have not learned yet. Add ちょっと in front to downgrade it.

Making yourself understood

When your Japanese runs out, which it will:

eigo ga hanaseru hito wa imasu ka.
Is there anyone who speaks English?
A long sentence, but worth learning whole.
nihongo ga wakarimasen.
I don't understand Japanese.
わかります takes が, not を.
yukkuri onegaishimasu.
Slowly, please.
Shorter than day 17's version, and easier under pressure.
Why it works

わかります takes が rather than を, which is the same pattern as すき and あります. It is one of a small group of verbs that behave this way, and they are worth noticing as a set: what you understand, what you like, what you want and what exists all take が.

tasukete!
Help!
kyūkyūsha o yonde kudasai.
Please call an ambulance.
saifu o nakushimashita.
I've lost my wallet.
guai ga warui desu.
I feel unwell.

Check yourself

8 questions. Nothing is saved unless you finish.