Emergency Phrases in Punjabi: Hospital, Police, Lost

Your phone is dead. Your passport is in a bag you last saw on a bus. You are somewhere outside Amritsar, your Punjabi is three lessons deep, and you need a person in front of you to understand what you need. This is the phrase set for that moment — the one that most learners never study because they assume they will not need it, right up until they do.

Help and Stop: The Two Phrases Worth Knowing Before Everything Else

Loud and clear, anywhere in Punjab:

Gurmukhi	Romanization	IPA	English
ਮਦਦ ਕਰੋ!	Madad karo!	/məd̪əd̪ kəɾoː/	Help!
ਰੁਕੋ!	Ruko!	/ɾʊkoː/	Stop!
ਮਦਦ ਕਰੋ ਜੀ!	Madad karo jī!	/məd̪əd̪ kəɾoː dʒiː/	Please help! (with honorific)

ਮਦਦ (madad) is a Farsi-origin word that moved into Punjabi, Urdu, and Hindi centuries ago. You will be understood anywhere in Punjab, in both Indian and Pakistani territory, and across most of North India. Shout it. Do not worry about tone or precise pronunciation in a crisis — the word is unmistakable.

ਰੁਕੋ! (Ruko!) is the imperative of ruknā (to stop). One syllable. Use it to stop a vehicle, a person walking away, or a situation escalating.

The emergency number in India is 112 — unified for police, ambulance, and fire since 2019. Say it in English or Punjabi: ਇੱਕ ਸੌ ਬਾਰਾਂ (ikk sau bārāṃ). Emergency operators in urban Punjab are accustomed to English-speaking callers. In Amritsar specifically, the tourist police stationed near the Golden Temple complex speak functional English and are specifically trained for foreign visitors.

Medical Emergencies: Doctor, Sick, Allergy

The phrase structure for medical Punjabi is straightforward once you have the core vocabulary. Most of the words are recognizable from Hindi or Urdu if you have any background there.

Gurmukhi	Romanization	IPA	English
ਡਾਕਟਰ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ	Ḍākṭar cāhīdā hai	/ɖɑːkʈər tʃɑːhiːd̪ɑː hɛː/	I need a doctor
ਮੈਂ ਬੀਮਾਰ ਹਾਂ	Maiṃ bīmār hāṃ	/mɛⁿ biːmɑːɾ hɑːⁿ/	I am sick
ਹਸਪਤਾਲ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਹੈ?	Aspatāl kitthe hai?	/əspət̪ɑːl kɪt̪ːeː hɛː/	Where is the hospital?
ਐਂਬੂਲੈਂਸ ਬੁਲਾਓ	Ainbūlains bulāo	/ɛːmbʊlɛːns bʊlɑːoː/	Call an ambulance
ਮੈਨੂੰ ਦਰਦ ਹੈ	Mainū dard hai	/mɛːnuː d̪əɾd̪ hɛː/	I am in pain
ਮੈਂ ਬੇਹੋਸ਼ ਹੋ ਰਿਹਾ ਹਾਂ	Maiṃ behosh ho rihā hāṃ	/mɛⁿ beːhoːʃ hoː ɾɪhɑː hɑːⁿ/	I am fainting (male speaker)

The allergy construction uses ਐਲਰਜੀ (elalrajī) — a direct English loan — or the phrase ਤੋਂ ਨੁਕਸਾਨ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ (toṃ nuksān hundā hai, "causes me harm"):

ਮੈਨੂੰ X ਦੀ ਐਲਰਜੀ ਹੈ Mainū X dī elalrajī hai "I am allergic to X"

Replace X with the substance: ਮੂੰਗਫਲੀ (mūṃgphalī, peanuts), ਦੁੱਧ (duddh, milk), ਕਣਕ (kaṇak, wheat), ਪੈਨਿਸਿਲਿਨ (painisiliṇ, penicillin). For any chronic condition, the formula is equally direct: ਮੈਨੂੰ ਸ਼ੂਗਰ ਹੈ (Mainū shūgar hai, "I have diabetes"), ਮੈਨੂੰ ਬਲੱਡ ਪ੍ਰੈਸ਼ਰ ਹੈ (Mainū balaḍ praishar hai, "I have blood pressure"). Both borrowed terms are understood everywhere.

One thing worth knowing about Punjabi hospitals: in most government hospitals and many private clinics in Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Chandigarh, there is at least one staff member who speaks functional English. Private hospitals in Chandigarh (Fortis, Max) have English-speaking admissions desks as standard. The Punjabi phrases matter most in rural settings, at smaller clinics, and when you need to communicate quickly before anyone has found a bilingual staff member.

Police: Theft, Lost Passport, Embassy

These are the phrases for crime reporting. In India, the police station is the ਥਾਣਾ (thāṇā) — the word you need if someone on the street is directing you.

Gurmukhi	Romanization	English
ਮੇਰੀ ਜੇਬ ਕੱਟੀ ਗਈ	Merī jeb kattī gaī	I've been pickpocketed
ਮੇਰਾ ਬੈਗ ਚੋਰੀ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ	Merā baig chorī ho giā	My bag has been stolen
ਪਾਸਪੋਰਟ ਗੁੰਮ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ	Pāspōrṭ gumm ho giā	My passport is lost
ਥਾਣੇ ਨੂੰ ਲੈ ਜਾਓ	Thāṇe nū lai jāo	Take me to the police station
ਐਂਬੈਸੀ ਨੂੰ ਫ਼ੋਨ ਕਰੋ	Ainbasī nū phone karo	Call the embassy
ਮੈਂ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ੀ ਹਾਂ	Maiṃ videśī hāṃ	I am a foreigner
ਪੁਲਿਸ ਬੁਲਾਓ	Pulis bulāo	Call the police

The phrase ਮੇਰੀ ਜੇਬ ਕੱਟੀ ਗਈ (merī jeb kattī gaī) is worth unpacking. Jeb (ਜੇਬ) is pocket. Kattī gaī is the passive past: "was cut." The imagery is literal — pickpocketing is called pocket-cutting across North Indian languages. The passive structure (gaī at the end) is a Punjabi past tense construction. It is not a pattern to drill right now; it is a phrase to memorize as a unit.

For lost passports specifically: your embassy's emergency line is your actual first call. The Punjabi phrases get you to a phone and to the police for the FIR (First Information Report) you will need for the insurance claim. The FIR process at an Indian police station is conducted in either Hindi or Punjabi. Requesting an English-language copy is standard practice for foreign nationals and the station will accommodate this, though it may take time.

Lost and Directions: Getting Unlost in Punjab

Being lost in Punjab is rarely dangerous. It is, however, occasionally bewildering — particularly in the old city lanes around Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, where the lanes split and rejoin without obvious logic.

Gurmukhi	Romanization	English
ਮੈਂ ਰਾਹ ਭੁੱਲ ਗਿਆ ਹਾਂ	Maiṃ rāh bhull giā hāṃ	I'm lost (male speaker)
ਮੈਂ ਰਾਹ ਭੁੱਲ ਗਈ ਹਾਂ	Maiṃ rāh bhull gaī hāṃ	I'm lost (female speaker)
ਏਹ ਮੇਰੇ ਹੋਟਲ ਦਾ ਪਤਾ ਹੈ	Eh mere hoṭel dā patā hai	This is my hotel's address
ਮੈਨੂੰ ਇੱਥੇ ਜਾਣਾ ਹੈ	Mainū itthe jāṇā hai	I need to go here (pointing)
ਕੋਈ ਮਦਦ ਕਰ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ?	Koī madad kar sak-dā hai?	Can anyone help?
ਏਹ ਗਲੀ ਦਾ ਨਾਂ ਕੀ ਹੈ?	Eh galī dā nāṃ kī hai?	What is this street called?

The gender distinction in "I'm lost" is one of the small things that marks you as an attentive learner: giā hāṃ for a male speaker (with the masculine past participle), gaī hāṃ for a female speaker. It is the same pattern you will see throughout Punjabi past tense — the verb ending carries the speaker's gender. For a full explanation of how gender works across Punjabi verb forms, the Punjabi verb tenses guide covers all the agreement patterns in one place.

The practical approach when lost: show your phone screen with the address or pull out a written address. ਏਹ ਮੇਰੇ ਹੋਟਲ ਦਾ ਪਤਾ ਹੈ (Eh mere hoṭel dā patā hai — "This is my hotel's address") paired with a pointed finger at the screen is understood universally.

A Note on Punjabi Helpfulness

Something worth knowing before you need any of this: Punjabis will almost always stop to help a lost or distressed foreigner. This is not a travel-brochure claim — it is a consistent feature of the culture. Accept the help, especially from elders. An older Punjabi man or woman who sees someone confused on a street corner will frequently walk you to your destination rather than just point. Go with them. The hospitality is genuine.

The specific phrases for accepting that help graciously — ਬਹੁਤ ਮਿਹਰਬਾਨੀ ਜੀ (bahut meharbānī jī, "great kindness, thank you") and ਰੱਬ ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਭਲਾ ਕਰੇ (Rabb tuhāḍā bhalā kare, "may God do you good") — are covered in the essential Punjabi phrases guide for travelers, which also covers what to say when Punjabi hospitality becomes overwhelming and you genuinely cannot accept another cup of chai.

The phrase ਤੁਹਾਡਾ (tuhāḍā) in that blessing is the formal possessive — you use it with any elder or stranger, never with the intimate terā. The full formality system behind that choice is explained in the guide to Punjabi pronouns and the tū/tusī split, which is worth reading early in your learning because the register rules affect emergency phrasing too: you will always address police officers, hospital staff, and helpful strangers with the tusī/tuhāḍā forms.

Preparing Without Catastrophizing

None of these phrases requires fluency to use. Write the three or four most critical ones on a card before you travel — specifically the allergy statement if you have a food allergy, and your hotel address in Punjabi script. For the pronunciation of medical and police terms, hearing them said by a native speaker matters more than reading the romanization. The Brightwood Apps Learn Punjabi app includes this phrase set with native audio recordings, so you can practice the sounds before you need them under pressure.