İmdat!
İm-dat!
Help!
Usage
A word to shout loudly in emergencies
Grammar Note
The most important Turkish emergency word. Shout it loudly. "Yardım!" is also used to mean "Help!".
Polis çağırın!
Po-lis ça-ğı-rın!
Call the police!
Usage
Used to ask bystanders to call the police in a dangerous situation
Grammar Note
In Türkiye all emergencies go to the single national number 112 (police, ambulance, fire and gendarmerie alike). The "-ın" ending is the polite imperative. The old numbers (110 fire, 112 medical, 155 police, 156 gendarmerie, 122 AFAD, 177 forest fire, 158 coast guard) were merged into 112 across all 81 provinces by June 2021.
Ambulans çağırın!
Am-bu-lans ça-ğı-rın!
Call an ambulance!
Usage
Used to ask bystanders to call an ambulance during a medical emergency
Grammar Note
The emergency number in Türkiye is 112. Fire ("Yangın var!"), ambulance and police all go to 112; the old 110 fire line was folded into 112 in June 2021.
Kayboldum
Kay-bol-dum
I am lost
Usage
Used when you are lost and need directions
Grammar Note
Past tense of "kaybolmak" (to get lost). "-dum" is the first person simple past. "Kayboluyorum" (I am getting lost) also works.
Çantam çalındı
Çan-tam ça-lın-dı
My bag was stolen
Usage
Used to report a theft to police or bystanders
Grammar Note
Passive past of "çalmak" (to steal). "çalındı" = was stolen. Apply to any item: "Pasaportum çalındı" (My passport was stolen).
Hastane nerede?
Has-ta-ne ne-re-de?
Where is the hospital?
Usage
Important expression when medical care is needed
Grammar Note
"-hane" (from Persian) means "house/place of". Used in: "eczane" (pharmacy), "kütüphane" (library), etc.
Hasta oldum
Has-ta ol-dum
I became sick
Usage
Used to communicate that you are feeling sick
Grammar Note
"olmak" (to become/be) in past tense = "oldum" (I became). For current state: "Hastayım" (I am sick) is also natural.
Eczane nerede?
Ec-za-ne ne-re-de?
Where is the pharmacy?
Usage
Used to find a pharmacy when you need medicine
Grammar Note
Turkish pharmacies display a red capital "E" (for Eczane). Useful follow-ups: "Ağrı kesici var mı?" (Do you have painkillers?) or "Ateş düşürücü" (fever reducer).
Sigortam var
Si-gor-tam var
I have insurance
Usage
Used at medical facilities to state that you have insurance
Grammar Note
Turkish possession: sigorta (insurance) + -m (my) + var (there is) = "I have insurance". Always carry your travel insurance card.
Türkçe bilmiyorum
Türk-çe bil-mi-yo-rum
I don't know Turkish
Usage
Used to communicate a language barrier to the other person
Grammar Note
The suffix "-çe/-ce/-ça/-ca" forms language names. "İngilizce" (English), "Japonca" (Japanese), "Çince" (Chinese) follow the same pattern.
Yardım edin lütfen!
Yar-dım e-din lüt-fen!
Please help me!
Usage
Used to call out for help from people nearby
Grammar Note
"yardım etmek" (to help) = noun "yardım" (help) + "etmek" (to do). A more polite form: "Bana yardım eder misiniz?" (Could you help me?).
Kesin şunu!
Stop it!
Usage
A firm refusal to a persistent tout or unwanted behavior; showing the screen without speaking still gets the message across
Bana dokunmayın!
Do not touch me!
Usage
A clear refusal when someone touches you; for your belongings, "Eşyalarıma dokunmayın!"
Çalındı!
It was stolen!
Usage
A general phrase to show while pointing at what was taken; name the item as "Pasaportum çalındı" (my passport was stolen)
Yangın
Fire
Usage
A destructive fire; the element fire itself is the separate word ateş
Hırsız
Thief
Usage
Names the person who steals; the act of stealing is hırsızlık
Soygun
Robbery
Usage
A robbery involving weapons or force; the offender is a soyguncu
Kapkaç
Snatching
Usage
Theft by grabbing something and running off; the offender is a kapkaççı
Yankesici
Pickpocket
Usage
Someone who takes things from a pocket or bag without being noticed; the act is yankesicilik
Adam kaçırma
Kidnapping
Usage
Taking a person away by force; the penal code calls it kişiyi hürriyetinden yoksun kılma
Cinayet
Murder
Usage
The act of killing a person, or a murder case; the killer is a katil
Ayaklanma
Riot
Usage
A crowd rising up violently
Bomba
Bomb
Usage
Shown to report a suspicious package or an explosive
Polis karakolu nerede?
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 "X nerede?" ("where is X?") frame, the same one as "Hastane nerede?" and "Eczane nerede?". "Polis karakolu" is a noun-noun compound in which the second noun takes the third-person possessive suffix; because the last vowel of "karakol" is "o", vowel harmony makes that suffix "-u", giving "karakolu" rather than "-ı" or "-i".
İtfaiye aracı çağırın!
Please call a fire engine
Usage
Asking bystanders to call a fire engine when you have found a fire
Grammar Note
The "X çağırın!" ("please call X") frame, the same one as "Polis çağırın!" and "Ambulans çağırın!", with "itfaiye aracı" (fire engine) filled in. The object carries no accusative marker, exactly as in "Ambulans çağırın!", so it denotes an unspecified vehicle.
Japonca bilen var mı?
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 same frame as "İngilizce bilen doktor var mı?" ("Is there a doctor who speaks English?"), with the language name changed to "Japonca" and the head noun dropped so that "bilen" ("one who knows") stands on its own. The question particle harmonises with the "a" of "var", so it is "mı", not "mi/mu/mü".
Cüzdanım çalındı
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 "Çantam çalındı" ("My bag was stolen"), with "çanta" (bag) replaced by "cüzdan" (wallet). The possessive suffix harmonises with the stem: "çanta" ends in a vowel and takes "-m", while "cüzdan" ends in a consonant and, because its last vowel is "a", takes "-ım".
Dikkat!
Watch out!
Usage
Shouted to warn someone of immediate danger; the same word heads road signs and warning notices
Lütfen acil çıkışa gidin
Please escape through the emergency exit
Usage
Telling the people around you to make for the emergency exit during a fire or an earthquake
Grammar Note
The polite imperative "gidin" of gitmek, the same form as "Düz gidin" ("Go straight"), with "Acil Çıkış" (emergency exit) as the destination. The dative suffix harmonises with the stem: the last vowel of "çıkış" is "ı", so it takes "-a", giving "çıkışa" rather than "-e".
Trafik kazası oldu
There has been a traffic accident
Usage
Report that a road accident has happened, to the emergency line or to bystanders. The single emergency number in Turkey is 112
Grammar Note
"Oldu" is the third-person past of "olmak" seen in "Hasta oldum". Note that the "-oldu" of "Çocuğumuz kayboldu" and "kayboldu" belongs to the separate verb "kaybolmak". "Kaza" means harm coming to a person, an object or a vehicle unintentionally or through negligence, and "trafik" means the use of transport routes by pedestrians and vehicles. "Trafik kazası" is an indefinite noun compound, so the second noun takes the third-person possessive "-sı"
Hırsızlığı bildirmek istiyorum
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 "bildirmek istiyorum" of "Araçta bir çizik / hasar var, bildirmek istiyorum.", with the accusative of "hırsızlık" (theft), the noun formed from "Hırsız". "Hırsızlık" means what a thief does, stealing.
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