Translation guide
How to express 'zooming' in Japanese, covering physical movement, camera operation, and digital interface actions.
Literally 'run as if flying', used for very fast movement, often of vehicles or people.
彼は飛ぶように走って行った。
He zoomed away.
Onomatopoeic expression for something moving with a whoosh or zoom sound. Casual and vivid.
猫がビュンと動いた。
The cat zoomed past.
Adjusting a camera lens to make the subject appear closer or farther.
Standard loanword for using a zoom lens. Can be used with 'イン' or 'アウト' for direction.
カメラをズームしてください。
Please zoom the camera.
ズームインして被写体に近づく。
Zoom in to get closer to the subject.
Means 'enlarge' or 'magnify'. Used for zooming in, especially in technical contexts.
画像を拡大して詳細を確認する。
Zoom in on the image to check the details.
Means 'reduce' or 'shrink'. Used for zooming out.
地図を縮小して全体を見る。
Zoom out on the map to see the whole area.
Using touch gestures or controls to zoom in/out on a screen.
Common term for the pinch-to-zoom-in gesture on touchscreens.
写真をピンチインして拡大する。
Pinch in to zoom in on the photo.
Common term for the pinch-to-zoom-out gesture.
地図をピンチアウトして広域を表示する。
Pinch out to zoom out on the map.
More formal or written term for zooming in on a display.
画面を拡大表示するにはダブルタップします。
Double-tap to zoom in on the screen.
「ズーム」 is the most common and natural for camera zoom. 「拡大」「縮小」 are more technical and often used in software menus or formal instructions. For touch gestures, 「ピンチイン」「ピンチアウト」 are standard.
While ズーム can be understood as 'zoom' in the sense of moving quickly in some contexts (like a car zooming), it's not natural. Use expressions like 「急に動く」 or 「飛ぶように走る」 instead.