Speaking Japanese

How to report a theft to the police, in Japanese

If you are in the chair right now

かばんを盗まれました。

My bag has been stolen.

If that gets brushed off

保険のために盗難届を出したいんですが。

I'd like to file a theft report, for the insurance.

盗まれました is a passive, and it is the ordinary way to say this, because the sentence stays about the person it happened to rather than about the thief. Go to the nearest 交番, the neighbourhood police box, rather than looking for a station: say 交番 to anyone on the street and you will be pointed at one. Ask for the 盗難届 by name, because that is the piece of paper an insurance claim will want.

Nobody plans for this, and it arrives at the worst possible moment for building a sentence. You are rattled, your phone is gone, and the officer needs three specific things before anything else can happen: what was taken, what was in it, and when you last had it.

If you need more than one line

softest

すみません、ちょっと困っているんですが。

Sorry, I'm in a bit of trouble. Opens it without having to get the whole thing out at once.

neutral

駅の近くで、かばんを盗まれました。

My bag was stolen near the station.

neutral

中に財布とパスポートが入っていました。

My wallet and passport were inside it.

firmest

盗難届をお願いします。

I'd like to file a theft report, please.

Two things worth knowing

One verb form does most of the work here.

The passive is the plain way to say it

「かばんを盗まれました」 is, word for word, closer to “I had my bag stolen” than to “someone stole my bag”. English reaches for the active, and 誰かが私のかばんを盗みました will be understood, but it makes the sentence a report about the thief, whom you cannot describe. The passive keeps it about you, which is what you came in to talk about. Same shape for 財布を取られました.

交番, not 警察署

Most reports start at a 交番, the one-room police box on a corner rather than a station, and the officer there either does the paperwork or sends you on. 「盗難届を出したいんですが」 is the fixed phrase for the report itself, with the same trailing んですが doing the same softening work it does everywhere else in the language.

What Takeshi actually said

What you have to get done

State what was taken and from where
Explain the bag and what was inside
Provide details about when it happened

Takeshi

何が起こったのですか？

What happened?

You

私のバッグが盗まれてしまったんです。公園の近くで、少し目を離した隙に無くなってしまいました。

My bag was stolen. Near the park. I looked away for a moment and it was gone.

Takeshi

それは大変でしたね。バッグの中には何が入っていましたか？

That's awful. What was in the bag?

You

バッグは黒いリュックサックで、中には財布、携帯電話、そしていくつかの本が入っていました。

It's a black rucksack, and inside were my wallet, my phone and a few books.

Takeshi

ありがとうございます、とても大切なものが入っていたんですね。最後にそのバッグを持っていたのはいつですか？

Thank you, so there were some important things in it. When did you last have the bag?

You

最後の確認は、公園を出る直前で、すぐ近くのベンチに置いていたのですが、その後すぐに無くなってしまったんです。

The last time I checked was just before I left the park. I'd put it on the bench right beside me, and then it was gone.

Takeshi

わかりました。情報を記録しましたので、警察に報告します。どんなことでもあれば、また連絡してください。お大事に。

Understood. I've taken the details down and will file it. If anything else comes up, get in touch. Take care.

Now say it yourself

Reading that is not the same as producing it with someone waiting, which is the entire difficulty. You can have this exact conversation in the app: Takeshi is a third of the way through, and you have three things to get done.

It is free, it takes about a minute to start, and the first attempt is allowed to be terrible.

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