捕とらわれる

と

ら

わ

れ

る

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

be caught; be captured; be taken prisoner; be arrested

Physical capture or detention by an enemy, police, or trap. Intransitive; the subject is the person or thing caught.

犯はん人にんは警けい察さつに捕とらわれた。
The criminal was arrested by the police.
彼かれは敵

てき

に

捕と

らわれ

て

捕ほ

虜りょ

に

なっ

た

。

He was captured by the enemy and became a prisoner of war.

2

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

be seized with; be obsessed by; be bound by; be swayed by

usually written using kana alone

Metaphorical: being caught up in an emotion, idea, convention, or past event, often to an excessive degree. Usually written in kana for this sense.

彼かれは恐きょう怖ふにとらわれて動うごけなかった。
He was seized with fear and couldn't move.
過か去この失しっ敗ぱいにとらわれずに前まえに進すすもう。
Let's move forward without being bound by past failures.

Written forms

捕とらわれるUsage5%
Most common kanji spelling for both physical and metaphorical capture.
とらわれるUsage74%
Kana spelling is common for the metaphorical sense (sense 2).
囚とらわれるUsage12%
Kanji spelling specifically for physical capture or imprisonment; less common than 捕らわれる.
捕とらわれるUsage4%
Variant spelling; slightly less common than 捕らわれる.
捉とらわれるUsage4%
Rare kanji spelling for being caught up in an idea or emotion.

Kanji

囚captured, criminal, arrest
捕catch, capture
捉catch, capture

Similar words

捕つかまえる
捕まえる is a transitive verb meaning 'to catch' or 'to arrest' someone. 捕らわれる is its intransitive counterpart, meaning 'to be caught'.
囚しゅう人じん
囚人 is a noun meaning 'prisoner'. 囚われる shares the kanji 囚 and refers to the state of being imprisoned.

Etymology

Derived from the verb 捕らえる (とらえる, 'to catch') with the passive/intransitive suffix ～われる. The kanji 捕 means 'catch', 囚 means 'captive', and 捉 means 'grasp', reflecting different nuances of being caught.