01 · The first thing anyone asks
¿Está bien? ¿Está herido?
Are you okay? Are you hurt?
This is the instinctive first check, not a formal script — it's what a bystander says before anything else.
andbefluent.com/spanish/crisis-manager
Crisis Manager
State what happened, where, and what you need — clearly, in Spanish, when it counts.
Lead with the problem and the place — that's the order authorities expect: estoy en calle X esquina Y, cerca de Z. The emergency number across Latin America is now 911, so llama al 911 works almost everywhere. Be precise about what happened: me robaron means it was stolen, me asaltaron means you were mugged — a stronger word Mexicans reserve for armed theft — and a police report is la denuncia, which you'll need before any insurance claim moves. If someone's hurt, está sangrando (they're bleeding) is what locals actually say.
Below: the words for accidents, theft and travel disasters, how they change by country, the details police always ask for — and a way to rehearse the whole report out loud before you ever need it.
The warm-up pack
The lines that matter when something goes wrong — said calmly, because that's how they're actually used.
01 · The first thing anyone asks
¿Está bien? ¿Está herido?
Are you okay? Are you hurt?
This is the instinctive first check, not a formal script — it's what a bystander says before anything else.
02 · Getting help moving
¡Auxilio! Hubo un accidente.
Help! There's been an accident.
Auxilio carries more urgency than ayuda — it's the word that turns heads.
03 · Asking calmly, not panicking
Necesito una ambulancia, por favor.
I need an ambulance, please.
Staying this plain and polite under pressure is exactly what gets a dispatcher moving fast — you don't need dramatic language, just the clear ask.
04 · The number that works everywhere
Llama al 911.
Call 911.
911 is now the number across almost all of Latin America — one less thing to look up when it counts.
05 · Describing what happened
Está sangrando, hubo un choque.
They're bleeding, there was a crash.
Choque is the everyday word for a crash — not colisión, which sounds like a police report, not a phone call.
06 · Naming what happened without over-explaining
Me bajaron la cartera.
I got pickpocketed.
This says exactly what happened in three words — no need to build a longer sentence to be understood.
07 · The practical next step
Tengo que hacer la denuncia.
I have to file a report.
Denuncia is the word insurance and consulates actually want — knowing it means you don't fumble for 'report' mid-conversation.
08 · Reporting it the formal way
Extravié mi pasaporte.
I lost my passport.
Extravié is the word a consulate expects — more formal than perdí, and it signals you're taking the process seriously.
09 · At the lost luggage desk
Se perdió mi maleta.
My suitcase got lost.
Maleta is what people actually say — equipaje is the umbrella term you'll see printed on signs, not the word you reach for.
10 · Staying functional mid-panic
Me cancelaron el vuelo, ¿qué hago?
My flight got cancelled, what do I do?
It's fine to sound rattled — this is the honest version of the question, and it's exactly what a local would ask too.
11 · The line that buys you faster help
Tengo seguro de viaje.
I have travel insurance.
Saying this early, before anyone asks, often speeds up how fast a clinic or consulate moves on your case.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/crisis-managerRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| they robbed me | me robaron / me asaltaron | me afanaron |
| are you hurt? | ¿está herido? | ¿te lastimaste? |
| call the police | llama al 911 | llamá a la policía |
| ambulance | la ambulancia | el SAME |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
You can't drill your way to calm — you rehearse it. In the Crisis Manager lessons, Olivia walks you into the situations you hope never happen: a police station where your passport has been stolen and you have to say what happened, where and when; a call to emergency services after a car crash, stating the location and who's hurt; the airport desk where se perdió mi maleta and you need to confirm next steps. You say every word out loud, confirm instructions back — ¿qué debo hacer ahora? — and the vocabulary stops being a list and becomes something you can reach for under stress.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Crisis Manager is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
In real danger, shout ¡auxilio! or ¡socorro! — both are understood across Latin America. In the moment, ¡rápido! does the work of urgente. To get emergency services, llama al 911 — 911 is now the standard number across most of Latin America.
Me robaron covers any theft. ¡Me asaltaron! is stronger — in Mexico it implies you were mugged, possibly at weapon-point. Pickpocketed? Mexicans say me bajaron la cartera; in Argentina you'll hear the lunfardo me afanaron. Precision matters: police treat robo and pérdida (loss) very differently.
Two stops: the police for la denuncia (the official report — Mexicans say voy a poner una denuncia), then el consulado for replacement documents. At the consulate, the formal verb is extravié mi pasaporte. Ask for a copy: necesito una copia de la denuncia para el seguro.
At the airport, speech beats textbook: se perdió mi maleta (maleta is more natural than equipaje out loud) and me cancelaron el vuelo, ¿qué hago? To file the claim, people say voy a hacer un reclamo rather than the formal reclamación.
Always confirm next steps: ¿qué debo hacer ahora? — then repeat the instructions back so nothing is lost. Mention tengo seguro de viaje (I have travel insurance); it unlocks faster help everywhere, and the insurer will want that copy of la denuncia.