Japanese by Example
Learning through examples in manga

A groper's condemnation with 自業自得

Manga panel from 俺物語!! showing example of A groper's condemnation with 自業自得.
俺物語!! » Volume 5 » Page 21

Rinko tells Saijou how she first met Takeo through her encounter with a groper on the train. It was Takeo who came to her rescue.

凛子(りんこ):
「その(あと) そのチカンにうちの自業自得(じごうじとく)だみたいなこと()われて」
“After that, the groper essentially told me it was my own fault.”
西城(さいじょう):
「なに そのチカン さいあく!!」
“What?! That groper is the worst!”

Key Points

  1. 自業自得(じごうじとく)だ = “it’s your own fault”
    • In this context, 自業自得(じごうじとく) means “you brought this on yourself” or “it’s what you deserve”
    • The groper is cruelly blaming Rinko, saying she deserved the harassment
    • Though 自業自得(じごうじとく) is neutral (can be used for negative or positive consequences), it’s most often used for negative outcomes
  2. 〜みたいなこと()われて = “was told something like…”
    • みたいな here means “something like” or “essentially”; Rinko is paraphrasing what the groper said
    • ()われる is the receptive form of () (“to say”), meaning “to be told” or “to have something said to oneself”
  3. Casual te-form ending: 〜()われて
    • The sentence ends with the te-form ()われて, leaving the thought incomplete
    • This creates a trailing effect, implying “…and then (something else happened)” or inviting the listener to imagine the situation
    • Common in conversational storytelling to maintain narrative flow