Japanese for Walking a Bicycle Through a Crowd: Polite Requests and Excusing Yourself
Learn to ask permission to walk your bicycle through a crowded shopping street in Japanese, and to excuse yourself politely when people are in the way.
By SofiaGetting around · Yapr Learn
When a shopping street is too crowded to ride, you need to get off and push your bicycle. In Japanese, this means combining a permission request with a polite apology for the trouble. This lesson gives you the exact patterns for asking a shopkeeper or a passerby whether you may walk your bike through, and for excusing yourself as you go. You will practise a short exchange on a busy street where riding is not allowed. The focus is on spoken politeness: すみません to open, 通してもいいですか to ask permission, and 通してください to ask someone to let you pass.
By the end, you can…
- ask permission to walk my bicycle through a crowded area using 自転車を押して通ってもいいですか。
- excuse myself and ask someone to let me pass with すみません、通してください。
- understand and respond to a simple warning that riding is prohibited.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
自転車を押して通ってもいいですか。
May I walk my bicycle through?
ji-ten-sha o o-shi-te tō-tte-mo ii desu ka
Use this when you are already off the bicycle and want permission to push it through a crowd or a narrow passage. 押して means 'pushing', not riding.
すみません、通してください。
Excuse me, please let me pass.
su-mi-ma-sen, tō-shi-te ku-da-sai
A direct but polite request to people blocking your way. Use it when you are already walking the bicycle and need a path.
ここは自転車に乗ってはいけませんか。
Is riding a bicycle prohibited here?
ko-ko wa ji-ten-sha ni no-tte wa i-ke-ma-sen ka
Ask staff or a local when you are unsure about the rule. 乗って refers to riding, not walking.
押して歩きます。
I will walk it.
o-shi-te a-ru-ki-ma-su
A short statement to show you understand the rule and will push the bicycle instead of riding.
気をつけます。
I will be careful.
ki o tsu-ke-ma-su
A polite response when someone warns you about the crowd or the bicycle.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is 〜てもいいですか, which asks for permission. Attach it to the て-form of a verb: 通ってもいいですか (may I pass?), 押してもいいですか (may I push?). To name the object, use を: 自転車を押して通ってもいいですか。The て-form links the action 押して (pushing) with 通って (passing). This is different from 〜てください, which requests an action from someone else: 通してください means 'please let me pass'. Keep the two apart: 〜てもいいですか asks 'is it okay if I...?', while 〜てください asks 'please do...'. Note that 〜てはいけません expresses prohibition: ここは自転車に乗ってはいけません means 'you must not ride a bicycle here'.
When to use it
Use 自転車を押して通ってもいいですか when you are at the entrance of a crowded shopping street, a station passage, or a narrow lane, and you want to check before entering. Use すみません、通してください once you are already inside and need people to make room. If a staff member says 自転車は押して歩いてください (please walk your bicycle), answer はい、わかりました or 気をつけます。Do not use 通してください with a shopkeeper as a permission question; it is a request for action, so it fits the moment when you are physically moving through the crowd.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
すみません、この道は自転車に乗ってはいけませんか。
Excuse me, is riding a bicycle prohibited on this street?su-mi-ma-sen, ko-no mi-chi wa ji-ten-sha ni no-tte wa i-ke-ma-sen kaはい、歩いてください。自転車は押してください。
Yes, please walk. Please push your bicycle.hai, a-ru-i-te ku-da-sai. ji-ten-sha wa o-shi-te ku-da-saiわかりました。自転車を押して通ってもいいですか。
Understood. May I walk my bicycle through?wa-ka-ri-ma-shi-ta. ji-ten-sha o o-shi-te tō-tte-mo ii desu kaはい、大丈夫です。すみません、通してください。
Yes, that's fine. Excuse me, please let me pass.hai, dai-jō-bu desu. su-mi-ma-sen, tō-shi-te ku-da-saiA little context goes a long way
In Japan, すみません works as both 'excuse me' and 'sorry' and is the standard opener before a request. When you ask permission, a slight bow and a soft voice matter as much as the words. On a crowded shopping street, staff may repeat the rule politely; a short はい、わかりました shows you accept it. Avoid raising your voice or ringing a bicycle bell in a crowd, as this can seem aggressive.
One thing to watch for
Using 自転車を押して通ってください to ask for permission.
Try this instead: 〜てください asks someone else to do something, so it sounds like you are telling the other person to push your bicycle. For permission, use 〜てもいいですか: 自転車を押して通ってもいいですか。If you want people to let you pass, say すみません、通してください。
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1You are at the entrance of a crowded shopping street with your bicycle. Ask a staff member if you may walk it through.
Show a sample answer
自転車を押して通ってもいいですか。
This uses 〜てもいいですか to ask permission and 押して to make clear you will push, not ride. 自転車を押して歩いてもいいですか is also acceptable.
2People are blocking the narrow passage and you are already walking your bicycle. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
すみません、通してください。
This politely asks them to let you pass. すみません、通してもらえますか is a slightly softer alternative.
3A staff member tells you ここは自転車に乗ってはいけません。How do you respond politely?
Show a sample answer
はい、わかりました。押して歩きます。
This shows you understand and will follow the rule. はい、気をつけます is also fine and equally polite.
Ask permission with 自転車を押して通ってもいいですか, and excuse yourself with すみません、通してください. Keep 押して for walking the bicycle and 乗って for riding, and open every request with すみません.
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