This is the vocabulary you study precisely so that you never have to think about it. Japan is one of the safest countries anywhere, but it also lives with earthquakes and typhoons, and its emergency system speaks Japanese first. Two phone numbers — 110 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance — plus a dozen set phrases cover almost every crisis. Disaster announcements and warning signs are written in deliberately simple, formulaic Japanese, which is exactly why the JFT-Basic tests them: they are the highest-stakes reading a resident ever does.
Emergency words
| Japanese | Reading | English |
|---|---|---|
| 助けて | たすけて | Help! |
| 危ない | あぶない | dangerous, watch out! |
| 警察 | けいさつ | police |
| 救急車 | きゅうきゅうしゃ | ambulance |
| 消防車 | しょうぼうしゃ | fire engine |
| 火事 | かじ | fire |
| 地震 | じしん | earthquake |
| 台風 | たいふう | typhoon |
| 津波 | つなみ | tsunami |
| 避難 | ひなん | evacuation |
| 避難所 | ひなんじょ | evacuation shelter |
| 事故 | じこ | accident |
| 泥棒 | どろぼう | thief |
| 財布 | さいふ | wallet |
| 大丈夫 | だいじょうぶ | OK, all right |
| 気をつけて | きをつけて | be careful |
| 逃げる | にげる | to escape, flee |
| 揺れる | ゆれる | to shake |
Phrases that do the work
| Say this | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 助けてください！ たすけてください！ | Please help me! |
| 救急車を お願いします。 きゅうきゅうしゃを おねがいします。 | An ambulance, please. (calling 119) |
| 火事です！ かじです！ | Fire! (also what you say first to 119) |
| 事故が ありました。 じこが ありました。 | There's been an accident. |
| 財布を 盗まれました。 さいふを ぬすまれました。 | My wallet was stolen. (for the police, 110) |
| 住所は 〇〇です。 じゅうしょは 〇〇です。 | The address is ~. (the dispatcher's first question) |
| 日本語が あまり わかりません。 にほんごが あまり わかりません。 | I don't understand much Japanese. |
| 避難所は どこですか。 ひなんじょは どこですか。 | Where is the evacuation shelter? |
Calling 119 for an ambulance
Read it aloud twice — once for meaning, once for rhythm. Then cover the English and try again.
係員はい、119番です。火事ですか、救急ですか。119 — is it a fire, or a medical emergency?
あなた救急です。友達が 倒れました。Medical. My friend has collapsed.
係員わかりました。住所を お願いします。Understood. The address, please.
あなたさくら町 二丁目 三の五です。アパートの 二階です。Sakura-cho 2-chome 3-5. Second floor of the apartment building.
係員友達は 息を して いますか。Is your friend breathing?
あなたはい、して います。でも、目を 開けません。Yes, breathing. But not opening their eyes.
係員わかりました。救急車が 行きますから、そのまま 待って いて ください。Understood. An ambulance is on its way — please stay where you are.
Signs to recognise on sight
| Sign | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 非常口 | ひじょうぐち | Emergency exit — the green running man |
| 避難所 | ひなんじょ | Evacuation shelter |
| 避難場所 | ひなんばしょ | Evacuation area (open ground) |
| 消火器 | しょうかき | Fire extinguisher |
| 立入禁止 | たちいりきんし | No entry |
| 危険 | きけん | Danger |
| 注意 | ちゅうい | Caution |
| 緊急地震速報 | きんきゅうじしんそくほう | Earthquake early warning (the phone alarm) |
Things nobody tells you
110 = police, 119 = fire AND ambulance. Both are free from any phone, including locked ones. The 119 dispatcher's first question is always 火事ですか、救急ですか (fire or medical?) — answer with one word and then give the address.
The address comes before everything. Help is dispatched to a place, not a story. Keep your own address written in Japanese near your door and in your phone — under stress, reading beats remembering.
In an earthquake: drop, cover, wait. Get under a table, away from windows; the shaking usually passes within a minute. Afterwards, follow locals — the walking crowd knows where the 避難所 (shelter, usually a school) is. Elevators are off-limits after any quake.
Your phone will scream before big quakes. The 緊急地震速報 alert is a loud chirping alarm seconds before strong shaking. It is terrifying the first time; knowing its name and purpose in advance is half the battle.
Check yourself
1. Your neighbour's kitchen is on fire. You dial:
119 handles fire AND ambulance; 110 is police. Say 火事です first, then the address. (104 is directory assistance and 117 the talking clock — memorably useless in a fire.)
2. The dispatcher asks 「住所を お願いします」. They want your:
住所 = address — the first thing every dispatcher needs, and the same kanji you met on the city hall forms. Keep yours written down in Japanese.
3. After a strong earthquake you should look for signs reading:
避難所 (ひなんじょ) marks evacuation shelters, usually schools and community centres. The others are "open for business", "money exchange" and a train-fare machine — wrong emergencies entirely.
Study the grammar behind this situation
- Hospital guide — what happens after the ambulance
- JFT kanji by category — the warning-sign kanji group
- Listening practice — announcements are pattern recognition — train it
More situation guides
- Japanese at the Hospital and Clinic
- Japanese at the City Hall (市役所)
- Japanese at the Workplace
- Japanese at the Train Station
- Japanese for Shopping and the Konbini
Written by Rahul Kumar Singh. Published 17 July 2026. All dialogues and example sentences are original. Vocabulary readings are checked against standard dictionaries — if you spot an error, report it and I will fix it.