kare ha batu wo uketa.

It is read:

かれ は ばつ を うけた。
Kare wa batsu o uketa.

A few pronunciation notes:

• 彼 = かれ (kare)
• 罰 = ばつ (batsu)
• を is written を but pronounced お / o
• 受けた = うけた (uketa)

When は is used as the topic particle, it is pronounced wa, not ha.

So in:

彼は罰を受けた。

the は marks 彼 as the topic, so you say kare wa.

This is one of the first big spelling-vs-pronunciation things learners meet in Japanese.

Here, 彼 means he.

However, in real Japanese, 彼 is not always used as freely as he is in English. Japanese often leaves the subject unstated when it is clear from context.

So although 彼は罰を受けた。 is perfectly valid, in natural conversation Japanese might often just say:

罰を受けた。
if it is already obvious who the speaker means.

Also, 彼 can sometimes sound a little more explicit or written than English he.

は marks the topic, while が often marks the subject in a more focused or identifying way.

In this sentence:

彼は罰を受けた。

the feeling is something like:

• As for him, he received punishment
• He was punished

Using は makes 彼 the topic of the statement.

If you used が instead:

彼が罰を受けた。

it could sound more like:

• He is the one who received punishment
• It was he who got punished

So the difference is often about topic vs. focus/emphasis, not a completely different basic meaning.

を marks the direct object of the verb.

Here, the object is:

罰 = punishment

and the verb is:

受けた = received / underwent

So:

罰を受けた
literally means received punishment or underwent punishment.

That is exactly right. Japanese often expresses this idea with the pattern:

N を 受ける = to receive / undergo N

So:

• 罰を受ける = to receive punishment
• 被害を受ける = to suffer damage
• 影響を受ける = to be affected

In English, we often prefer was punished, but Japanese commonly uses punishment + receive/undergo.

So a very natural English translation of 彼は罰を受けた。 is:

• He was punished.
• He received punishment.

受けた is the plain past form of 受ける.

• Dictionary form: 受ける = to receive
• Past plain form: 受けた = received

This verb is an ichidan verb, so the change is straightforward:

• 受ける
• remove る
• add た
• → 受けた

So the sentence is in the past tense: the punishment happened already.

It can mean both, depending on how literally or naturally you want to translate it.

The Japanese wording is literally closer to:

He received punishment.

But in natural English, the best translation is often:

He was punished.

So if a learner sees either translation, that is usually fine.

No, not grammatically.

Even though the natural English translation may be He was punished, the Japanese sentence itself is not using Japanese passive grammar.

This sentence uses:

• 罰 as the object
• 受けた as the active verb received

So it is structurally more like:

He received punishment

not a passive form like punishment was given to him.

A more directly passive-style Japanese expression would use a different structure, such as a passive verb form, but that is not what is happening here.

罰（ばつ） generally means punishment.

It is a broad word and can refer to punishment in many contexts:

• moral punishment
• disciplinary punishment
• legal punishment, depending on context

It is not always exactly the same as:

• penalty
• sentence
• fine

Those can be more specific in English.

So in this sentence, punishment is usually the safest translation.

It is plain form, so it is not polite speech.

彼は罰を受けた。 sounds:

• neutral in writing
• plain/informal in grammar
• natural in narration, storytelling, or explanation

The polite version would be:

彼は罰を受けました。

That would be more appropriate in polite conversation or formal speech.

Sometimes, but often Japanese would omit it if the person is already understood from context.

For example, if everyone already knows who is being talked about, a speaker might simply say:

罰を受けた。

Japanese often avoids repeating pronouns like he, she, or I when they are obvious.

So the full sentence is grammatically fine and useful for study, but real conversation may use fewer explicit pronouns.

Yes, it can.

The combination of:

• explicit 彼
• plain past 受けた
• a noun-verb expression like 罰を受けた

can sound quite natural in writing, narration, news-like explanation, or formal storytelling.

It is not unnatural, but in casual spoken Japanese, people may use more context-dependent or shorter phrasing.

A simple breakdown is:

• 彼 = he
• は = topic marker
• 罰 = punishment
• を = object marker
• 受けた = received

So the literal structure is:

As for him, punishment received.

That is not good English, of course, but it helps show how the Japanese sentence is built.