Emergency in Danish: 46 Travel Phrases with Audio

Hjælp!
Help!
Usage
Call for help in any emergency
Grammar Note
Corresponds to Swedish "Hjälp" and Norwegian "Hjelp"
Ring 112!
Call 112! (emergency number)
Usage
Denmark's emergency number 112 covers police, ambulance, and fire
Grammar Note
112 is used for all emergencies in Denmark: police, fire, and ambulance
Tilkald en ambulance!
Call an ambulance!
Usage
Use in medical emergencies
Grammar Note
"Tilkald" is the imperative of "tilkalde" (to call/summon)
Jeg har brug for en læge
I need a doctor
Usage
Request medical assistance
Grammar Note
"Har brug for" is the idiomatic Danish way to express need
Jeg er kommet til skade
I have been injured
Usage
Tell others you have been injured
Grammar Note
"Komme til skade" is an idiomatic phrase meaning to get injured
Jeg er blevet bestjålet
I have been robbed
Usage
Report a theft or robbery to the police
Grammar Note
"Er blevet" + past participle = passive present perfect
Jeg har mistet mit pas
I have lost my passport
Usage
Report a lost passport to authorities
Grammar Note
"Mistet" is the past participle of "miste" (to lose)
Jeg har det ikke godt
I am not feeling well
Usage
Express that you are feeling unwell
Grammar Note
"Har det godt" = feeling good; "ikke" negates it
Hvor er nærmeste apotek?
Where is the nearest pharmacy?
Usage
Find a pharmacy when you need medicine
Grammar Note
"Apotek" is cognate with English "apothecary"; pharmacy
Kan du hjælpe mig?
Can you help me?
Usage
Ask someone for help in any situation
Grammar Note
"Hjælpe" is the infinitive of "to help"; "Kan du" = polite request
Hold op!
Stop it!
Usage
Hold this up without speaking to make someone stop pestering, overcharging, or harassing you; it is blunt on purpose
Grammar Note
Imperative of the phrasal verb "holde op" (to stop); a bare "Stop!" works just as well
Rør mig ikke!
Do not touch me!
Usage
Show this without speaking when someone touches you; bystanders can read it too, which is part of the point
Grammar Note
Imperative "Rør" (touch) + object "mig" + negation "ikke"; in Danish imperatives the negation follows the object
Ring til politiet!
Call the police!
Usage
Show this to get a bystander to call the police; to call yourself, the Danish emergency number is 112, and 114 for non-urgent police matters
Grammar Note
Imperative of "ringe til" (to phone); "politiet" is the definite form of "politi"
Jeg er faret vild
I am lost
Usage
Show this when you no longer know where you are; showing a map alongside speeds things up
Grammar Note
Present perfect of "fare vild" (to get lost); if you have merely taken a wrong turn, "Jeg er gået forkert" is the milder phrase
brand
Fire
Usage
One word to report that a fire has broken out; Denmark's emergency number is 112 for police, ambulance and fire alike
Grammar Note
Common gender: definite "branden", plural "brande". The flame itself is "ild"; "brand" is a destructive fire, as in a building
tyv
Thief
Usage
The word for the person who stole; show it to report a theft or alert bystanders
Grammar Note
Common gender: definite "tyven", plural "tyve". The act itself is "tyveri", which is also the offence name in section 276 of the penal code
røveri
Robbery
Usage
Names being robbed with violence or the threat of it; distinct from "tyveri", theft without violence
Grammar Note
Neuter: definite "røveriet", plural "røverier". It is the offence in section 288 of the penal code ("For røveri straffes … den, som … ved vold eller trussel om øjeblikkelig anvendelse af vold … fratager eller aftvinger nogen en fremmed rørlig ting"); the offender is a "røver"
lommetyv
Pickpocket
Usage
The word for a thief who lifts things out of pockets and bags; also used to warn about crowded places
Grammar Note
Common gender: definite "lommetyven", plural "lommetyve", compounding "lomme" (pocket) and "tyv" (thief). The act is "lommetyveri"
kidnapning
Kidnapping
Usage
Names a person being carried off and held captive; Danish spells it with a single "p", "kidnapning"
Grammar Note
Common gender: definite "kidnapningen", plural "kidnapninger". The penal code has no offence called "kidnapning"; such acts are punished under section 261, "frihedsberøvelse" (deprivation of liberty). A synonym is "bortførelse"
mord
Murder
Usage
Names a killing; this is the word Danish uses in everyday speech and in the news
Grammar Note
Neuter: definite "mordet", plural unchanged. The penal code calls the offence "manddrab" in section 237 ("Den, som dræber en anden, straffes for manddrab"); courts say "manddrab" while everyday Danish says "mord"
optøjer
Riot
Usage
Names a violent crowd disturbance; in Danish this word exists only in the plural
Grammar Note
A plural-only noun; definite "optøjerne". A synonym is "oprør". The penal code names the offence "opløb" in section 133, a legal term for an unlawful crowd
bombe
Bomb
Usage
Show this to report a suspicious object or a suspected explosive; it conveys the need to evacuate or call in
Grammar Note
Common gender: definite "bomben", plural "bomber". The identical form "at bombe" is also the verb, to bomb
Det brænder! Løb ud!
Fire! Run!
Usage
Shout this when you notice a fire indoors to warn the people around you and get them out
Grammar Note
The impersonal "Det brænder" is the set way to raise a fire alarm; "huset brænder" (the house is on fire) works too. The imperative of "løbe" is "løb", followed by the directional adverb "ud"
Stop tyven! Tag ham!
Thief! Catch him!
Usage
Shout this, pointing at someone running off with stolen goods, to get bystanders to help
Grammar Note
"tyv" takes the definite form "tyven" because it points at the person in front of you; the imperative of "tage" is "tag". If the person is female, replace "ham" with "hende"
Ring til brandvæsenet!
Call the fire brigade!
Usage
Ask someone to call the fire service. Danish calls the service ("brandvæsenet"), not the vehicle ("brandbil")
Grammar Note
The service called follows the preposition "til" in the definite form. "brandvæsen" is neuter, so the definite ending is -et
Hvor er nærmeste politistation?
Where is the nearest police station?
Usage
Use this to ask the way to the police station, for example to file a report
Grammar Note
"Hvor er nærmeste …?" keeps the noun indefinite after the superlative. "politistation" is common gender, definite "politistationen"
Jeg har brug for en politianmeldelse
I need a police report
Usage
Show this when you need the police report of a theft, for example for an insurance claim. The sentence itself does not name the theft, so say or mime that part
Grammar Note
"politianmeldelse" is common gender, definite "politianmeldelsen". It states the need with the "Jeg har brug for …" (I need) pattern rather than a "please draw up" request
Er der nogen, som taler japansk?
Is there anyone who speaks Japanese?
Usage
Show this at a hospital or police station to look for someone who speaks Japanese
Grammar Note
"Er der …?" asks whether anyone is there. Danish orthography puts a comma before the relative pronoun "som" (or "der"). The language name "japansk" is lower case and takes no article as the object of "tale"
Denne person er bevidstløs
This person is unconscious
Usage
Point at the person who has collapsed and show this to tell bystanders or paramedics that they are unconscious
Grammar Note
In Danish the noun after the demonstrative "denne" stays indefinite — "denne person" — with none of the double definiteness Norwegian shows in "denne personen". "bevidstløs" is an adjective: neuter "bevidstløst", plural and definite "bevidstløse"
Nogen er ved at drukne!
Someone is drowning
Usage
Use this at the water's edge to raise the alarm that someone is drowning
Grammar Note
Danish has no progressive tense; "være ved at" + infinitive expresses an action in progress. "drukne" includes the fatal outcome, so the progressive frame is what gives "is drowning"
Jeg er blevet mishandlet
I was assaulted
Usage
Show this to the police or at a hospital to report that you have been assaulted
Grammar Note
"blive" + past participle forms the passive. "mishandle" is to subject someone to rough, damaging treatment such as violence; its past participle is "mishandlet"
Jeg er blevet stukket ned
I was stabbed
Usage
Show this to say you have been stabbed with a blade, so that the wound is treated at once
Grammar Note
"stikke nogen ned" means to attack someone with a knife or similar so that they are badly wounded or die; the blade is part of the sense, so no word for knife is needed. The past participle is "stukket"
Der har været indbrud på mit værelse
My room was broken into
Usage
Show this to hotel staff or the police to report that your room was broken into while you were out
Grammar Note
"indbrud" is neuter: definite "indbruddet", unchanged in the plural. An event is reported with the impersonal "der"
Den person derovre er gerningsmanden
That person is the culprit
Usage
Point at someone at a distance and show this to tell the police that they are the offender
Grammar Note
Something further off is marked with "derovre" (over there). In Danish the noun after the demonstrative "den" stays indefinite, hence "den person". "gerningsmand" is a person who has committed a crime; definite "gerningsmanden"
Jeg er blevet snydt
I was deceived
Usage
Show this to report that you have been cheated — an unfair charge, a fake product and so on
Grammar Note
"snyde" means to behave deceitfully towards someone in order to gain an advantage; it inflects "snyder – snød – snydt". "føle sig snydt" means to feel cheated
Jeg er blevet frastjålet min tegnebog
My wallet was stolen
Usage
Show this when reporting to the police that your wallet has been stolen
Grammar Note
"frastjæle" (to steal something from someone) is commonly used in the passive; the passive takes the victim as subject and the stolen object follows with no preposition. "tegnebog" is common gender, plural "tegnebøger"
Jeg har glemt mine ting
I left my things behind
Usage
Show this to say you have left your things behind on a vehicle or in a shop
Grammar Note
"glemme" also covers failing by mistake to do what one should have done. "ting" is unchanged in the plural, so the possessive takes the plural form "mine"
Jeg er blevet påkørt af en bil
I was hit by a car
Usage
Show this to tell paramedics or the police that a car has hit you
Grammar Note
The past participle of "påkøre" (to drive into someone or something so that damage is done) is "påkørt"; the agent is marked by "af", as in "påkørt af en bil"
Løb ud gennem nødudgangen!
Please escape through the emergency exit
Usage
Use this while pointing at the emergency exit to get people to evacuate in a fire
Grammar Note
"nødudgang" is common gender; because it refers to the particular exit in sight, it takes the definite form "nødudgangen". The preposition is "gennem", as in "evakueret gennem nødudgangene"
Det er farligt!
It's dangerous!
Usage
Use this to warn someone off an immediate danger
Grammar Note
The adjective "farlig" agrees with the neuter subject "det" and becomes "farligt"; with a common gender noun it is "farlig", and "farlige" in the plural and definite
Kom med det samme!
Please come right away
Usage
Use this to call someone to come to where you are at once
Grammar Note
"komme" is the verb for moving to where the speaker is; its imperative is "kom". "med det samme" is the set adverbial phrase for "immediately"
Det haster!
It's urgent
Usage
Show this to say the situation cannot wait and to get people to act at once
Grammar Note
"haste" means that something needs doing as quickly as possible; the pattern is "det haster (med NOGET)". The present tense is "haster"
Kør mig til hospitalet, tak
Please take me to a hospital
Usage
Show this to a taxi driver or anyone with a car to ask to be driven to a hospital
Grammar Note
This is "køre mig til …" with the verb in the imperative, "kør". The final "tak" softens the request
tasketyveri
Snatching
Usage
Theft where the bag itself is snatched, including by someone overtaking on a bicycle or moped; the offender is a "tasketyv"
Grammar Note
Neuter gender: definite "tasketyveriet", plural "tasketyverier", compounding "taske" (bag) and "tyveri" (theft). The method differs from "lommetyveri", the lifting covered by "lommetyv"
Skynd dig!
Please hurry
Usage
Tell the emergency services, the police or a driver that there is no time to lose
Grammar Note
The reflexive imperative "skynd dig" used on its own. "Skynde" is glossed as transitive "to rush, hurry" and reflexive "to hurry"; the reflexive uses the past "skyndte" and participle "skyndt"
Der er sket en trafikulykke.
There has been a traffic accident
Usage
Tell 112 or the people around you that a road accident has happened
Grammar Note
The "Der er sket en + noun" ("there has happened a ...") frame filled with the compound "trafikulykke" (trafik "traffic" + ulykke "accident"). "Ulykke" is a common-gender noun, so the article is "en"

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