How to say "zone" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- nounThe katakana loanword for zone. Use it where Japanese adopts the English term — sports tactics, technical fields and the like — rather than for ordinary geographic or administrative areas.
- 地区ちくnounA district or quarter: a section of a town or locality marked out by its character or use, such as residential or commercial. The natural word for a city district.
- 地帯ちたいnounA belt: a broad stretch of land whose parts share one geographic, climatic or economic character, running across a wide area. For large-scale zones like belts and regions, not small city districts.
- 区域くいきnounA demarcated area: a zone defined by boundaries, typically for administration or regulation, where certain rules or restrictions apply. The word for designated, restricted or controlled zones.
- 区くnounA section or ward: one of a large city's administrative divisions, or a numbered electoral or postal district. It denotes an official subdivision rather than a generic zone.
Use 「ゾーン」 for the loanword in sports and technical contexts, 地区 for city districts, 地帯 for broad geographic belts, 区域 for demarcated regulatory areas, and 区 for administrative or postal sections.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
This browser can't play pronunciations (needs Safari 18.4 or later, or Chrome / Edge / Firefox).
