Spanish for an emergency in Peru
In an emergency in Peru, the sentences that work are short: "¡Ayuda!", "necesito un doctor", "llame a la policía", "me robaron". The police number is 105 and the ambulance service is 116. Learning four fixed phrases beats being able to build sentences under stress.
Draft copy. Every claim needs a native-speaker check before publishing — the byline is what makes this citable, so it has to be earned.
The four sentences to memorise
Under stress, grammar goes first. These are worth knowing as single blocks, not as things you assemble:
- ¡Ayuda! — help. Or ¡Auxilio!, which is the more urgent one
- Necesito un doctor. — I need a doctor
- Llame a la policía. — call the police (usted form, which is what you would use with a stranger)
- Me robaron. — I’ve been robbed. Literally “they robbed me”, which is how Spanish says it
Numbers
- 105 — police (la Policía Nacional)
- 116 — fire and ambulance (los bomberos, who run emergency medical response)
- 106 — SAMU, the ambulance service in Lima
- 0800-2-2221 — tourist police, la Policía de Turismo
La Policía de Turismo is the one to look for after a theft: they are used to foreigners and to issuing the report you will need.
Getting attention
- “Disculpe, necesito ayuda.” — excuse me, I need help
- “¿Me puede ayudar?” — can you help me
- “Es una emergencia.”
- “No hablo bien español.” — a genuinely useful sentence, said early
- “¿Hay alguien que hable inglés?” — is there anyone who speaks English
Reporting a theft
Spanish distinguishes the kinds, and the police will ask:
- el robo — theft with force or threat
- el hurto — theft without force, pickpocketing
- el asalto — a mugging
- me robaron — I was robbed
- me asaltaron — I was mugged
- se me perdió — I lost it. Note the se me: Spanish presents losing things as something that happened to you rather than something you did
- la denuncia — the police report. “Necesito hacer una denuncia.” — I need to file a report, which is the phrase your insurer will need you to have used
What was taken:
- el celular — the phone. Not el móvil, which is Spain
- la billetera — the wallet
- el pasaporte — the passport
- la mochila — the backpack
Where, which is the hard part
Giving a location in a second language is harder than describing the problem. The Peruvian shortcut is the block system:
- “Estoy en la cuadra tres de la avenida Larco.” — block three of Larco
- “En la esquina de Larco con Benavides.” — the corner of X with Y
- “Cerca del óvalo de Miraflores.” — near the Miraflores roundabout
- “Frente a la farmacia.” — opposite the pharmacy
La cuadra, la esquina and frente a will locate you almost anywhere in a Peruvian city. See hay and place for the underlying pattern.
At the hospital
- la clínica — private hospital. el hospital — public
- el seguro — insurance. “Tengo seguro de viaje.”
- la emergencia — A&E, the emergency department
- “Me duele mucho acá.”
- “Soy alérgico a la penicilina.”
- “Estoy tomando esta pastilla.” — I’m taking this tablet, while showing the box, which is faster and safer than trying to pronounce it
One piece of practical advice
Write the address of where you are staying on paper and keep it separate from your phone. A great deal of emergency Spanish becomes unnecessary if you can hand someone a piece of card.
Topics Health and getting helpGetting aroundPeruvian Spanish
Fixed phrases and where you are
Eight on emergency Spanish — four sentences worth knowing as blocks rather than building, and the block-counting that locates you in any Peruvian city.
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1Your bag has just been taken from you in the street. Which sentence?
Answer
*Me robaron.* — *Me robaron* — literally “they robbed me” — is how Spanish says it, and it is worth knowing as one block rather than assembling under stress. *Perdí* says you mislaid it, which changes what the police and your insurer do.
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2Which number gets you the police in Peru?
Answer
105 — 105 is the *Policía Nacional*. 116 is fire and ambulance — *los bomberos* run emergency medical response — and 106 is SAMU, the ambulance service in Lima.
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3You need a stranger in the street to call the police. What do you say?
Answer
*Llame a la policía.* — *Llame* is the *usted* imperative, which is what you use with someone you do not know. *Llama* is the *tú* form and *llamo* just says that you yourself are calling.
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4You are on the phone to emergency services and need to say where you are. Which locates you best?
Answer
*Estoy en la cuadra tres de la avenida Larco.* — *La cuadra* — the block — is the Peruvian address system and is what a driver or a dispatcher actually works from. A street number is far less useful than a block count.
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5How do you give a corner?
Answer
*En la esquina de Larco con Benavides.* — *La esquina de X con Y* is the fixed shape — note the *con*, not *y*. With *la cuadra* and *frente a*, it will locate you almost anywhere in a Peruvian city.
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6*Se me perdió el pasaporte.* What is the *se me* doing?
Answer
Presenting the loss as something that happened to you rather than something you did — Spanish presents losing things as an event that befell you. It is not evasion, it is simply the normal construction — and it is different from *me robaron*, which names an act by someone else.
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7Your insurer will want a police report. What do you need to ask for?
Answer
*una denuncia* — *Necesito hacer una denuncia* is the phrase, and *la denuncia* is the document. *La receta* is a prescription and *el recibo* a receipt — neither will satisfy an insurer.
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8You have been robbed as a visitor and want the police most used to dealing with this. Who do you look for?
Answer
*la Policía de Turismo* — *La Policía de Turismo* deals with foreigners routinely and issues the report you will need — 0800-2-2221. *Los bomberos* are the fire and ambulance service.