# cry for help



## SuperXW

Hi, all!
When you are in danger, how do you "cry for help" in your languages? Does it literally mean "help" like it is in English?

In Chinese:
救命！  Literal meaning: Save life!
Sometimes: 來人啊！ Literal meaning: Somebody come!


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## SwissPete

En français : Au secours (from _secourir_, to save, to help, to rescue).


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## Stoggler

Swedish and Dutch use their equivalents of "help" (Hjälp! and Help! or Hulp! respectively).

Welsh has borrowed the English word "help" so we have "helpa fi" (singular informal) and "helpwch fi" (singular formal/plural) - the "fi" (meaning "me") is optional.

And Czech is "pomoc" which I think means something along the lines of "assistance" or "(give me a) hand"


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## dadane

If my memory serves me right I just screamed "Aaaaargh" repeatedly because I physically couldn't pronounce any other word. I think was the case, my memory may be clouded because of the subsequent morphine injections.

If somebody else was in danger I think I would just scream "No-oooooo"

Edit: This begs another question: does 'Aargh' convey the same meaning of urgency in all languages?


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## SuperXW

^I think it's natural for most human beings to "aaaargh" in case of emergency, since it's the easiest sound to cry out loud, and it realises your pressure, doesn't require any brain work. ;O

Well, I think the other question should be: does 'No-ooooo' convey the same meaning of urgency in all languages?
Apparently, not in Chinese. "No" carries the meaning of "don't", "stop", but it barely make sense if we cry "don't/stop" when someone has fallen down into water...
Besides, the equivalent of "no" in Chinese pronounced [bu:]. The sound isn't loud enough. >.<


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## dadane

^You misunderstood me, "no-ooo" is what I would naturally shout if I saw someone putting themselves in danger in order to stop them: I'm trying to think of things I've actually said in really urgent situations when thoughts about language go 'out the window'.


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## ahmedcowon

Arabic also uses the equivalent of "help/rescue": *النجدة /an-najdah/*

But in spoken dialects, we use the word *الحقوني /ilħaqouni/* which means "catch me" or "follow me" _(the red part changes according to the pronoun)_


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## rusita preciosa

In Russian most often these verbs are used (imperative 2nd person plural):
*помогите! */pomoguite/ - help! - aidez!
*спаcите!* /spasite/ - save! - sauvez!

Also sometimes (I imagine it is mostly used in books) *на помощь! */na pomosh'/ - to the help! - au secours


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## ancalimon

Turkish
yardım edin : help
or
imdat (help) (probably an Arabic loan)

About noooo!. The Turkish equivalent of that is yoooo!. (it roughly means "not", "I don't want this to happen", "I don't want to see this happening")


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## arielipi

Hebrew:
help הצילו hatzilu - save
somebody help me! שמישהו יעזור לי shemishehu ya'azor li!


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## apmoy70

Hi SuperXW,

In Greek:

*«Βοήθεια!»* [vo'iθi.a] (fem.) < Classical Gr. fem. noun *«βοήθεια» bŏḗtʰeiā*, and Aeolic *«βοαθοΐα» bŏătʰŏḯā* --> _help_, literally, _running towards the cry_ < compound, Classical fem. noun *«βοὴ» bŏḕ* --> _cry, battle-cry_ (onomatopoeic, the Lat. boāre is a Greek loan) + Classical v. *«θέω» tʰéō* --> _to run_ (PIE *dʰeu-, _to run_ cf Skt. धावते (dhAvate), _to run, stream_)


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## Maroseika

rusita preciosa said:


> In Russian most often these verbs are used (imperative 2nd person plural):
> *помогите! */pomoguite/ - help! - aidez!
> *спаcите!* /spasite/ - save! - sauvez!
> 
> Also sometimes (I imagine it is mostly used in books) *на помощь! */na pomosh'/ - to the help! - au secours!



One more *Russian *interjection (although a bit obsolete) is: *Караул*! 
Literally it means "*guard*" and originally must have presumed calling the street quard for help.
The word came in Russian thru Turcic languages from Mongolian харуул (kharuul) - guard.


Ukrainain (and South Russian): *Ратуйте*! (Ratuyte)
This is Plural Imperative from ратувати - to save, from German retten (to save) thru Polish ratować (to save).


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## SuperXW

apmoy70 said:


> Hi SuperXW,
> 
> In Greek:
> 
> *«Βοήθεια!»* [vo'iθi.a] (fem.) < Classical Gr. fem. noun *«βοήθεια» bŏḗtʰeiā*, and Aeolic *«βοαθοΐα» bŏătʰŏḯā* --> _help_, literally, _running towards the cry_ < compound, Classical fem. noun *«βοὴ» bŏḕ* --> _cry, battle-cry_ (onomatopoeic, the Lat. boāre is a Greek loan) + Classical v. *«θέω» tʰéō* --> _to run_ (PIE *dʰeu-, _to run_ cf Skt. धावते (dhAvate), _to run, stream_)


I can't fully understand all those terms and abbreviations. But why "run"? Calling others to rush here?


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## apmoy70

SuperXW said:


> I can't fully understand all those terms and abbreviations.


Apologies for making your life difficult 

Classical Gr. fem. noun = Classical Greek (the Greek spoken in the 200-year period of 5th & 4th c. BCE) feminine noun.
Classical v. = Classical verb.
The vowels with the diacritical mark ˘ (called breve) on top, are short.
The vowels with the diacritical mark ¯  (called macron) on top, are long.
The consonants with a miniscule ʰ attached to them are aspirated:
pʰ = aspirated p
tʰ = aspirated t
etc.
PIE = abbreviation for Proto-Indo-European.


SuperXW said:


> But why "run"? Calling others to rush here?


Yes, that's exactly what the Greek word means, "run towards the cry!"


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## aruniyan

In Tamil ,

*"Kaapaathunga"* correctly its  _*kaappu*_(protect) *aatru*(do)


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## إسكندراني

ancalimon said:


> imdat (help) (probably an Arabic loan)
> The Turkish equivalent of that is yoooo!.


yes, imdad is an archaic word used today for 'supplies'. It has the same root as that used for 'madad' which sufis use a lot to mean exactly 'help/aid'.
and like many informal expressions we've taken from the ottomans, in the egyptian dialect 'yooooo' is used to mean 'oh no!' But it expresses frustration rather than fear.


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## bearded

In Italy we cry ''aiuto ! '' which means help. Pronunciation (according to English writing) is
''ah ee oo t oh''. Stress is on the oo.  The word 'aiuto' is of Latin origin, like most Italian words (Lat. adjuvare/adjutare: to help).


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## oveka

In Ukrainian:
*Допоможіть!**, крича́ти на ґвалт*/dopomozhit' krychaty na gvalt/ - help!
*рятуйте! про́бі! **ґвалт!калаву́р! * /ryatuyte! probi! gvalt! kalavur!/ - save!


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## Outsider

In Portuguese, *socorro*, "rescue" is the traditional word to ask for help, but one can also say *ajuda*, "help" (which may even be more common in actual practice).


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## ilocas2

Czech:

no way, nobody will help you if you will cry for help 

but you can try it:

*pomóc!*


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## SuperXW

What? That's so sad. 
What does *pomóc* mean?


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## ilocas2

Maybe I exaggerated. But I have such experience.

It means help (noun). The correct ortography is pomoc. But when it's shouted it's pronounced with long o.


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## francisgranada

Hungarian:

_*Segítség!  *_("help", noun)

When it's shouted: _segítsééég! _


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## momai

ahmedcowon said:


> Arabic also uses the equivalent of "help/rescue": *النجدة /an-najdah/*
> 
> But in spoken dialects, we use the word *الحقوني /ilħaqouni/* which means "catch me" or "follow me" _(the red part changes according to the pronoun)_


What about this word alfaz3a الفزعة ,is it used in Egypt as in Syria ?
ex: الحقوني الفزعة يا شباب !


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## go_neybee

In Filipino:

Saklolo!! (Like life threatening kind of deal)
Tulungan nyo ako!! (You, help me!!)


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## 810senior

In Japanese,　助けてtasukete or 助けてくださいtasukete kudasai(more polite) which both means help in imperative mood.


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## Armas

Finnish

Apua! = help, noun, partitive case
Auttakaa! = help, verb, 2nd person plural imperative


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