To Be Caught
To Be Arrested
intransitive verb, godan verb
You've seen how 捕まえる means "to catch," and this is its intransitive sibling: to be caught.
At its core, 捕まる means getting physically caught, whether you've lost a game of tag or been arrested by the police. Sometimes, it can be used in a more figurative sense too, like when you get held up by a really chatty person (you've been "caught" by them) or you finally manage to get a word with someone you've been trying to talk to (they've been "caught" by you).
You can tell this apart from 捕まえる by thinking about how it would really mar (まる) your reputation if you were to be arrested by the cops.
This word uses the same reading as 捕まえる, so if you remember that one, you should be okay here too.
警察に捕まる
to be arrested by the police
軍に捕まる
to be captured by the military
敵に捕まる
to be captured by the enemy
人に捕まる
to be caught by someone
スピード違反で捕まる
to be caught speeding
飲酒運転で捕まる
to be arrested for drunk driving
万引きで捕まる
to be arrested for shoplifting
日本で捕まる
to be arrested in Japan
うちの会社のアルバイトが人をなぐって捕まってしまったんだ。
A part-time worker at my company got arrested for punching a person.
アシュリーに何度も電話をかけているんだけど、なかなか捕まらないんだよね。
I've called Ashley over and over, but I'm not having any luck reaching her.
最初スピード違反で止められたんだけど、その後飲酒運転で捕まっちゃったんだよ。
At first I was just stopped for speeding, but I ended up being caught for drunk driving.
すごくおしゃべりな友達に捕まって、帰るのが深夜になってしまった。
I got held up by a very talkative friend and didn't make it home until late at night.