This is the most important lesson for real-life safety! You'll learn emergency vocabulary — how to call for help, describe accidents, and contact emergency services. We'll cover compound verbs (गिर गया [gir gayā] — fell down, टूट गया [ṭūṭ gayā] — broke) that express completed actions, and urgent request patterns. We hope you'll never need these words, but you must know them!
Learning tips
- 108 is India's emergency ambulance number — FREE nationwide. Memorize it! Police = 100, Fire = 101.
- Compound verbs (V + जाना [jānā]) express completed actions: गिर गया [gir gayā] = fell (and is down), टूट गया [ṭūṭ gayā] = broke (and is broken).
- In emergencies, use short, urgent commands: मदद करो! [madad karo!], एंबुलेंस बुलाओ! [embulens bulāo!]
- Delhi also has CATS Ambulance at 1099 and women's helpline at 1091.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| सेहत | sehat | health |
| व्यायाम | vyāyām | exercise |
| योग | yog | yoga |
| टहलना | ṭahalnā | to walk |
| फल | phal | fruit |
| सब्ज़ी | sabzī | vegetable |
| तेल | tel | oil |
| नमक | namak | salt |
| ज़रूरी | zarūrī | necessary |
| रोज़ | roz | daily |
Dialog
Sita and Ravi are at Lodhi Garden when an elderly man (addressed respectfully as 'uncle' — अंकल [aṅkal]) falls while jogging. They must act quickly — checking for injuries, calling 108 for an ambulance, and keeping the man calm. Notice the compound verbs: गिर गए [gir gae] (fell — completed action), टूट गया [ṭūṭ gayā] (broke), and urgent commands like जल्दी [jaldī] (quickly!). This dialog teaches you the exact phrases you'd need in a real emergency in India.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| मदद | madad | /mə.d̪əd̪/ | help | Feminine noun. मदद करना [madad karnā] = to help. मदद! [madad!] = Help! (exclamation) |
| पुलिस | pulis | /pʊ.lɪs/ | police | Feminine noun. English loanword. Emergency: 100. |
| एंबुलेंस | embulens | /em.bʊ.lens/ | ambulance | Feminine noun. English loanword. Emergency: 108 (free nationwide). |
| फ़ोन | fon | /foːn/ | phone | Masculine noun. English loanword. फ़ोन करना [fon karnā] = to call/phone. |
| कॉल | kŏl | /kɔːl/ | call | Feminine noun. English loanword. कॉल करना [kŏl karnā] = to make a call. |
| जल्दी | jaldī | /d͡ʒəl.d̪iː/ | quickly, fast, hurry | Adverb/noun. जल्दी करो! [jaldī karo!] = Hurry up! |
| ख़तरा | ḵatrā | /xət̪.raː/ | danger | Masculine noun. Urdu-origin. ख़तरनाक [ḵatarnāk] = dangerous. |
| चोट | coṭ | /t͡ʃoːʈ/ | injury, wound | Feminine noun. चोट लगना [coṭ lagnā] = to get injured. |
| गिरना | girnā | /ɡɪr.naː/ | to fall | Verb. गिर जाना [gir jānā] = to fall (completed). गिर गया [gir gayā] = fell. |
| टूटना | ṭūṭnā | /ʈuːʈ.naː/ | to break | Verb (intransitive). टूट जाना [ṭūṭ jānā] = to break (completed). हड्डी टूटना [haḍḍī ṭūṭnā] = bone breaking. |
Passive words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| आग | āg | /aːɡ/ | fire | Feminine noun. Emergency: 101. आग लगना [āg lagnā] = fire breaks out. |
| हादसा | hādsā | /haːd̪.saː/ | accident | Masculine noun. Urdu-origin. सड़क हादसा [saṛak hādsā] = road accident. |
| ख़ून | ḵūn | /xuːn/ | blood | Masculine noun. Urdu-origin. ख़ून बहना [ḵūn bahnā] = bleeding. |
| बेहोश | behoś | /beː.hoːʃ/ | unconscious | Adjective. Urdu-origin. बेहोश होना [behoś honā] = to become unconscious. |
| फ़र्स्ट एड | farsṭ eḍ | /fərsʈ eːɖ/ | first aid | Masculine noun. English loanword. |
| अस्पताल | aspatāl | /əs.pə.t̪aːl/ | hospital | Masculine noun. Urdu-origin. Same word learned in 9.4 as passive — now active! |
Useful chunks
| Word | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| मदद करो! | madad karo! | Help! (urgent command) |
| एंबुलेंस बुलाओ! | embulens bulāo! | Call an ambulance! (urgent command) |
| चोट लगी है | coṭ lagī hai | got injured (lit. 'injury happened') |
Grammar: Urgent requests, past-tense accidents (गिर गया), compound verbs for completion
| Pattern | Hindi | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| गिर गया (m.) | अंकल गिर गए [aṅkal gir gae] | aṅkal gir gae | uncle fell (completive) |
| टूट गया (m.) | पैर टूट गया [pair ṭūṭ gayā] | pair ṭūṭ gayā | leg broke (completive) |
| चोट लगी (f.) | चोट लगी है [coṭ lagī hai] | coṭ lagī hai | got injured |
| compound: V + जाना | गिर जाना [gir jānā] | gir jānā | to fall (completed action) |
| compound: V + जाना | टूट जाना [ṭūṭ jānā] | ṭūṭ jānā | to break (completed action) |
| urgent imperative | जल्दी कॉल करो! [jaldī kŏl karo!] | jaldī kŏl karo! | call quickly! |
Compound verbs with जाना [jānā] express completed, definitive actions:
The pattern is: main verb (root form) + जाना [jānā] (conjugated)
- गिरना [girnā] (to fall) → गिर गया [gir gayā] = fell (m. sg.)
- गिरना → गिर गई [gir gaī] = fell (f. sg.)
- गिरना → गिर गए [gir gae] = fell (m. pl./formal)
- टूटना [ṭūṭnā] (to break) → टूट गया [ṭūṭ gayā] = broke
- चोट लगना [coṭ lagnā] (to get hurt) → चोट लग गई [coṭ lag gaī] = got hurt
The compound verb emphasizes that the action is complete — he's not in the process of falling, he has fallen and is on the ground.
Urgent imperatives for emergencies:
- जल्दी करो! [jaldī karo!] = Hurry up!
- मदद करो! [madad karo!] = Help!
- एंबुलेंस बुलाओ! [embulens bulāo!] = Call an ambulance!
- हिलो मत! [hilo mat!] = Don't move!
These use the तुम [tum] form because emergencies override formality.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each emergency sentence with the missing word.
- करो! वो अंकल गए!(help / fell)
- एंबुलेंस को करो!(quickly / call)
- पैर में लगी है — शायद गया है।(injury / broken)
- नहीं है — एंबुलेंस आ रही है।(danger)
- 108 पर करो — चाहिए!(call / ambulance)
Grammar Application
Form sentences using compound verbs and urgent commands.
- 'He fell' using compound verb गिर + जाना → (गिर + जाना, masculine)
- 'The leg broke' using compound verb टूट + जाना → (टूट + जाना, masculine)
- 'She got injured' using चोट लगना → (चोट + लगना, feminine)
- 'Call the ambulance quickly!' (urgent) → (urgent: जल्दी + command)
- 'There's no danger' using ख़तरा → (ख़तरा + नहीं)
Translation (English → Hindi)
Translate each emergency phrase into Hindi.
- Help! They fell down!
- Call an ambulance quickly!
- The injury is in the leg.
- There's no danger, take care.
- Call the police!
Creative Construction
Describe an emergency situation using compound verbs, urgent commands, and at least 3 emergency words.
Writing: Visarga & Avagraha — Emergency vocabulary
Practice words
| Word | Romanization |
|---|---|
| दुःख | duḥkh |
| मदद | madad |
| जल्दी | jaldī |
Two lesser-known Devanagari marks:
विसर्ग (ः) [visarga] — two dots placed after a letter, representing a soft 'h' sound. It appears in Sanskrit-origin words:
- दुःख [duḥkh] = sorrow/pain
- अतः [ataḥ] = therefore
पूर्ण विराम (।) [pūrṇ virām] — Hindi's full stop (period). It's a vertical line, not a dot like in English. Every Hindi sentence ends with ।
- नमस्ते। = Namaste.
- मदद करो! = Help! (exclamation mark works the same)
Note: In modern informal Hindi (texts, social media), many people use the English period (.) instead of ।, but in formal writing, the pūrṇ virām is standard.
Takeaway
Compound verbs (V + जाना [jānā]) show completed actions: गिर गया [gir gayā] (fell), टूट गया [ṭūṭ gayā] (broke). In any emergency in India, call 108 for a free ambulance. Key phrases: मदद करो! [madad karo!] (Help!), जल्दी! [jaldī!] (Quickly!), एंबुलेंस बुलाओ! [embulens bulāo!] (Call an ambulance!).