📖 Study Guide
Learn Japanese through stories.
These stories include Japanese culture,
daily life, travel experiences,
and conversations between people.
1. Read the English text.
2. Read the Japanese text.
3. Use Romaji if needed.
4. Review the vocabulary.
🌸 Story
I got stopped by the police
while I was out with my bicycle.
自転車で警察に捕まっちゃった。
jitensha de keisatsu ni tsukamacchatta.
What did you do?
How much
did they fine you? 💦
何したの？
反則金、
いくら取られたの？💦
Nani shita no?
Hansokukin,
ikura torareta no? 💦
makes a little cat paw with her hand.
そっと猫の手をつくる。
sotto neko no te o tsukuru.
Why!? 💦
なんでよー💦
Nande yō? 💦
Then,
why did the police stop you?
じゃあ、
なんで警察に捕まったの？
Jā,
nande keisatsu ni tsukamatta no?
and pushing my bicycle,
when a police officer
riding a bicycle asked me,
“Why aren’t you riding it?”
「どうして乗らないの？」
って、
自転車に乗った警察官に
声をかけられたの。
“Dōshite noranai no?”
tte,
jitensha ni notta keisatsukan ni
koe o kakerareta no.
“You’re not allowed
to ride a bicycle
on the sidewalk here, right?”
「ここ、
自転車で歩道を走れないですよね？」
って言ったの。
“Koko,
jitensha de hodō o hashirenai desu yo ne?”
tte itta no.
“Oh!”
「あ！」
って。
“A!”
tte.
Wait……
You weren’t really
the one who got stopped, were you? 💦
それ……
捕まったの、
すみれじゃないよね💦
Sore……
tsukamatta no,
Sumire janai yo ne? 💦
the police did stop me.
警察に呼び止められたもん。
keisatsu ni yobitomerareta mon.
of course I’m going to misunderstand! ‼️💦
絶対勘違いするよー‼️💦
zettai kanchigai suru yō! ‼️💦
💭 Story Note
In Japan,
bicycles are often used
for short everyday trips.
Sometimes,
a person may choose to get off
and walk beside their bicycle
instead of riding it.
In this story,
Sumire does exactly that.
She believes
that riding on that part
of the sidewalk is not allowed,
so she walks with her bicycle instead.
What makes the scene funny
is that the police officer
first asks why she is not riding.
Then,
after hearing Sumire’s answer,
the officer also gets off the bicycle.
It is a small everyday moment,
but it shows how people may stop
and think about the rules
of the place they are using.
📚 Vocabulary
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| fine / penalty | 反則金 | hansokukin |
| violation | 違反 | ihan |
| got caught / was stopped | 捕まった | tsukamatta |
| was stopped / was called over | 呼び止められた | yobitomerareta |
| misunderstanding | 勘違い | kanchigai |
「捕まった」(tsukamatta)
is the past form of
「捕まる」(tsukamaru).
Depending on the situation,
it can mean
“got caught,”
“was caught,”
or sometimes
“was stopped.”
For example:
「警察に捕まった。」
Keisatsu ni tsukamatta.
“I got caught by the police.”
This can sound quite serious.
It may make the listener think
that the person broke a rule
or did something wrong.
But in casual conversation,
someone may also use 「捕まった」
more loosely when the police
simply stopped them.
That is why Sakura immediately
misunderstands Sumire.
Later, Sumire says:
「警察に呼び止められた。」
Keisatsu ni yobitomerareta.
“The police stopped me.”
「呼び止められた」 is more specific.
It means that someone called out
and stopped you.
So in this story,
「捕まった」 sounds much more serious
than what actually happened.
🔰 Mix Words and Feel Their Meaning｜ことばを混ぜて、感覚をつかもう
Today’s expression is 「捕まった」.
Try mixing it into English:
“I broke the rule and
警察に捕まった.”
“I was secretly eating a snack
and すみれに捕まった.”
“She said,
『警察に捕まった』,
so I thought
something serious happened.”
「捕まった」 can sound like
someone was caught
doing something wrong.
But depending on the situation,
it can also be used more loosely
for being stopped by someone.
That is why Sakura
misunderstands Sumire at first.
In this story,
Sumire later uses the more specific expression:
「警察に呼び止められた。」
That makes it clear
that the police simply stopped her
to speak with her.
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