How to say "flock" in Japanese

• 群れむれJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounThe basic noun for a flock: a group of birds, fish, or other animals staying together. Use it when 'flock' is a thing you refer to, not the action of gathering.
  鳥とりは群むれをなして飛とんでいた。↗

  The birds were flying in a group.
• 群れるむれるCommon
  ichidan verb, intransitive verbThe verb for animals flocking: birds, fish, or insects crowding together in a group. Use it for the act of gathering itself, where 群れ names the group.
• 一群いちぐんCommon
  nounFrames the flock as one collective whole, a flock viewed as a single unit. Fits descriptions where the group appears as one entity, such as birds moving together across the sky.
  空そら高たかく一いち群ぐんの鳥とりが飛とんでいるのを見みた。↗

  I saw a flock of birds flying aloft.
• たかるCommon
  godan verb, intransitive verbPeople crowding round or swarming on someone or something, in the way insects swarm — often hangers-on or mobbing fans. For 'flock' it works only in this crowd-round sense; usually written in kana alone.
  捨すてられたアイスのまわりにアリがウヨウヨたかっていた。↗

  The area around the melting ice cream was crawling with ants.
• 繰り出すくりだすCommon
  godan verb, intransitive verbAbout heading out or setting forth in large numbers — people flocking out into the streets, crowds sallying forth. It captures the movement of setting out together, not a flock gathered in one place.
  サーカスを見みにみんなくりだした。↗

  Everyone turned out for the circus.

Choose 「群れ」 for a flock as a noun, 「群れる」 when animals gather as a verb, 一群 to frame the flock as one unit, 「たかる」 for people swarming round someone, and 「繰り出す」 for heading out in large numbers.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 群れむれgroup
• 群れるむれるto crowd
• 一群いちぐんgroup
• たかるto gather
• 毛くずけくずflock
• 一群れひとむれgroup
• 繰り出すくりだすto head out as a group
• 出盛るでさかるto come out in large numbers (of people)