If something goes wrong, use the right number for the country. In Serbia, call 192 for police, 193 for fire or 194 for an ambulance. In Montenegro, call 112 for a general emergency, or use 122, 123 and 124 respectively. Then use a short phrase such as Upomoć! (Help!) or Zovite hitnu pomoć! (Call an ambulance!).
Published 11 September 2026
Emergencies are the worst time to be hunting for words, so everything below is short on purpose. Screenshot the two tables and save the numbers for the country you are visiting. Do not wait until an emergency to look them up.
The official numbers differ across the border. Serbia's Ministry of Interior lists the direct numbers below; Montenegro's Ministry of Interior confirms that 112 connects callers with emergency services nationwide:
| Service | Serbia | Montenegro |
|---|---|---|
| General emergency (hitni broj) | Use the direct numbers below | 112 |
| Police (policija) | 192 | 122 |
| Fire brigade (vatrogasci) | 193 | 123 |
| Ambulance (hitna pomoć) | 194 | 124 |
Save the correct set in your phone. English may be available, but do not depend on it: Govorite li engleski? means “Do you speak English?”
These are the ones to have on the tip of your tongue. The "Say it" column is a rough English-sound crutch — stress the part in capitals — not a substitute for hearing the words. The phrases beginning Pomozite and Zovite use the polite or plural command form, appropriate when addressing a stranger or several people.
| Serbian / Montenegrin | Say it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Upomoć! | OO-po-moch | Help! (the shout) |
| Pomozite mi, molim vas. | po-MO-zee-te mee, MO-leem vas | Help me, please. (to a person) |
| Zovite hitnu pomoć! | ZO-vee-te HEET-noo PO-moch | Call an ambulance! |
| Zovite policiju! | ZO-vee-te po-LEE-tsee-yoo | Call the police! |
| Zovite vatrogasce! | ZO-vee-te va-tro-GAS-tse | Call the fire brigade! |
| Hitno je! | HEET-no ye | It's urgent! |
One small grammar note that explains the shifting shapes: hitna pomoć (ambulance) and policija (police) change to hitnu pomoć and policiju after Zovite because they're now the thing being called — the accusative, the case for the object of a verb. You don't need to build those endings from scratch to be understood; learn the phrases whole and the pattern sinks in on its own. If you'd like the underlying idea, the accusative explained covers exactly this "who or what gets acted on" case in plain terms.
Once help is coming, you may need to say what happened. Two of these depend on whether you're a man or a woman speaking — the past-tense verb takes an -o ending for a man and an -la ending for a woman. Both forms are shown.
| Serbian / Montenegrin | Say it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Treba mi doktor / lekar. | TRE-ba mee DOK-tor | I need a doctor. |
| Ne osećam se dobro. | ne o-SE-cham se DO-bro | I don't feel well. |
| Boli me ovde. | BO-lee me OV-de | It hurts here. (point) |
| Povredio sam se. (m) / Povredila sam se. (f) | po-VRE-dee-o / po-VRE-dee-la sam se | I've hurt myself. |
| Imam bolove u grudima. | EE-mam BO-lo-ve oo GROO-dee-ma | I have chest pain. |
| Alergičan sam na... (m) / Alergična sam na... (f) | a-LER-ghee-chan / a-LER-ghee-chna sam na | I'm allergic to... |
For pointing at the pain, a few body words go a long way — glava (head), stomak (stomach), ruka (arm/hand), noga (leg/foot). The doctor and body-parts guide is the fuller kit for a clinic visit; this page is the version you can hold in your head.
Here is one possible opening after someone collapses in the street:
Operator: Hitna pomoć, izvolite. — Ambulance service, go ahead.
You: Treba mi hitna pomoć. Čovek se onesvestio. — I need an ambulance. A man has collapsed.
Operator: Gde se nalazite? — Where are you?
You: Kod parka, u ulici Knez Mihailova. — By the park, on Knez Mihailova street.
You (if you're stuck): Govorite li engleski? — Do you speak English?
Notice you never had to be fluent. You gave the service (hitna pomoć), what happened (onesvestio se — fainted/collapsed), and roughly where. If your words run out, Govorite li engleski? is a completely acceptable move — and knowing how to describe a location matters as much as any single word, which is where asking for and giving directions earns its keep.
Not every emergency is medical. These cover the common non-medical ones:
If your passport goes missing, contact the local police and your embassy or consulate for instructions. The police-station phrase and a calm Ukrali su mi pasoš are useful openings.
For a non-emergency such as asking about an over-the-counter medicine, an apoteka (pharmacy) may be the right place to start. Useful openings:
Cover the answers and produce the Serbian:
Answers: 1) Zovite hitnu pomoć! 2) Ne osećam se dobro. 3) Ukrali su mi torbu.
What numbers should I call in Serbia and Montenegro? In Serbia, call 192 for police, 193 for fire or 194 for an ambulance. In Montenegro, 112 is the general emergency number; the direct numbers are 122 for police, 123 for fire and 124 for an ambulance.
How do you say "help" in Serbian? Upomoć! (OO-po-moch) is the shout for “Help!” To ask a specific person, use Pomozite mi, molim vas — “help me, please.”
How do you tell someone to call an ambulance in Serbian? Say Zovite hitnu pomoć! For the police, say Zovite policiju! For the fire brigade, say Zovite vatrogasce!
Can I rely on English in an emergency? Do not rely on English being available. Ask Govorite li engleski? (“Do you speak English?”), then give the service you need, what happened and your location as clearly as you can.
Practise these phrases aloud so they are easier to retrieve under pressure. Then use the Serbian roadmap for calmer study, or review the small language differences you may hear across the border, such as ovdje for ovde and ljekar for lekar. To continue in the course, try Gora for seven days free with no card: search “Gora Academy” in the Apple App Store or Google Play, or open app.gora.academy.