(じてんしゃ)

bicycle

(とめる)

to stop, to halt

(ばしょ)

place

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(えき)

station

(ちかく)

nearby

(くる)

to come

(ひと)

person / people

(おおい)

many

(とうきょう)

Tokyo

(おおさか)

Osaka

(ちいさい)

small

(まち)

town

(あたらしい)

new

(まえ)

before, previous

(みち)

road, street, path

(たくさん)

a lot / many

(あるく)

to walk

(あぶない)

dangerous

(くるま)

car

(とおる)

to pass through

(し)

city

(した)

under, below

(よこ)

side; beside

(つくる)

to make

(いま)

now

(きれい)

pretty, clean

(おかね)

money

(いちにち)

one day

(ひゃくえん)

one hundred yen

(ぐらい)

about, approximately

(いっかげつ)

one month

(にせんえん)

two thousand yen

(ところ)

place; area

(すまほ)

smartphone

(はらう)

to pay

(かぎ)

key; lock

(かーど)

card

(つかう)

to use

(みんな)

Everyone; everybody

(はなす)

to speak, talk

is doing, has been doing (ongoing state/action)

Expresses a continuing action or resulting state. Formed with て-form + いる. Can describe an action in progress or a state resulting from a past change.

it is because ~

Gives a reason at the end of a sentence. Used here to explain why gasoline prices dropped (government subsidies).

and (non-exhaustive list)

や lists representative examples — Shikoku and Kyushu among other regions (四国や九州).

only ~

Limiter particle. 女性だけが宇宙船に乗りました means 'only women boarded the spaceship.'

until / as far as

Indicates an end point in space or time. Here it expresses how far the balls flew.

also to/by ~

Combines に (direction/target) with も (also).

hard to ~; difficult to ~

Attached to a verb stem to describe difficulty — 'people who have difficulty hearing'.

easy to ~ / tends to ~

Used in 'うつりやすくて' meaning 'easily contagious / easy to catch'.

to become

Expresses a change of state; Kawai became the new commissioner of the Sports Agency.

can do ..., to be able to ...

Verb dictionary form + ことができる expresses ability or possibility. More formal than the potential verb form. Common in written Japanese and announcements.

even without ~ / even if not ~

Negative te-form with も meaning even if not. Here 予約をしなくても (even without making a reservation).

want to ~

Verb stem + たい to express desire.

自転車を止める場所が増える

Places to park bicycles are increasing

駅の近くに自転車を止める場所が増えています。

The number of places to park bicycles near stations is increasing.

自転車で駅まで来る人が多いからです。

This is because many people come to the station by bicycle.

東京や大阪だけではありません。

It is not only in Tokyo and Osaka.

小さい町にも新しい場所ができています。

New places are being built in small towns as well.

前は道に自転車を止める人がたくさんいました。

In the past, many people parked their bicycles on the street.

歩く人はあぶないです。

That is dangerous for people who are walking.

車も通りにくいです。

Cars also have a hard time getting through.

市は道の下や駅の横に場所を作りました。

Cities have built parking spaces under roads and beside stations.

今は道がきれいになりました。

Now the streets have become tidy.

お金は一日百円ぐらいです。

The cost is about one hundred yen a day.

一か月で二千円の所もあります。

There are also places that cost two thousand yen a month.

スマホでお金をはらうことができます。

You can pay with a smartphone.

かぎがなくても、カードで使えます。

Even without a key, you can use it with a card.

市の人は「みんなが使いやすい場所を作りたいです」と話しました。

A city official said, "We want to build places that are easy for everyone to use."