Translation guide
The English word 'jumping' can refer to the physical action of leaping, sudden movements, or figurative leaps in logic or activity. This guide covers how to express these ideas naturally in Japanese.
Describing the action of pushing oneself off the ground using one's legs.
The most common verb for jumping or leaping. Often used for jumping up, over, or across.
子供が跳び箱を跳んだ。
The child jumped over the vaulting box.
He jumped high.
Means to jump around or bounce, often with a sense of repeated, energetic jumping.
The children are jumping around in the garden.
Loanword from English, commonly used in sports, games, and casual contexts.
He jumped high in basketball.
Describing jumping from a height or off an object.
Describing the action of entering quickly or suddenly.
Means to jump into or dive into something, both literally (water) and figuratively (a situation).
He jumped into the pool.
Expressing the idea of reaching a conclusion hastily without enough evidence.
Means to jump to a conclusion or make a hasty assumption. Often used when someone misunderstands quickly.
He jumped to conclusions without listening to my story.
Similar to 早合点, but often implies a careless mistake from jumping to conclusions.
Means to decide or assume something definitively, often prematurely. Can be used for jumping to conclusions.
Describing a sudden change in subject or focus.
Describing a sudden involuntary movement due to shock.
Means to jump up in surprise or fright. Often used when startled.
I jumped at the loud noise.
Onomatopoeic expression for flinching or jumping slightly from surprise.
I jumped when someone suddenly tapped my shoulder.
跳ぶ (とぶ) is used for jumping/leaping (human or animal motion), while 飛ぶ (とぶ) is used for flying (birds, planes, etc.). However, in some contexts 飛ぶ can also mean 'to jump' when the focus is on moving through the air. For physical jumping, 跳ぶ is more precise.
While ジャンプする is common in sports and casual speech, it can sound unnatural in traditional or formal contexts. Use 跳ぶ or other native verbs for general jumping actions.
The cat jumped down from the fence.
She jumped into the conversation.
I jumped to conclusions and ended up taking the wrong train.
It's not good to jump to the conclusion that he's the culprit when we don't know yet.
The topic jumped in the middle of the discussion.