How to say "hive" in Japanese

• ネストCommon
  nounEssentially the loanword for 'nest'; its 'hive' gloss is a marginal extension. For an actual beehive, 巣 is the natural word, so this word is seldom the one you want for that sense.
• 巣すJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe native word for a nest — where animals live and breed (it also covers 'rookery' and 'breeding place') — and the usual choice for 'hive': use it for a beehive, a bee colony's nest.
  ミツバチは、においのサンプルを巣すに持ち帰もちかえることによって食糧しょくりょうのありかを伝つたえる。↗

  Bees communicate the location of food by carrying odor samples back to the hive.

For the 'hive' sense — a bee colony's nest — 巣 is the natural choice; 「ネスト」 is essentially the loanword 'nest', and its 'hive' gloss is marginal, so it is seldom the word you want here.

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

• ネストnest
• 巣すnest
• 蜂の巣はちのすbeehive
• 蜂巣はちすhive
• 蜂窩ほうかbeehive