How to say "nest" in Japanese

• 巣すJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe basic noun for a nest, rookery, breeding place, or hive, built by birds, insects, and other animals. This is the usual word when talking about nests in everyday contexts.
  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.
• ネストCommon
  nounA loanword covering the same noun senses: nest, hive, rookery. It is a common word, but for animal nests 巣 is typically the natural choice; ネスト tends to appear in technical or stylistically Western-flavored contexts.
• 巣食うすくうCommon
  godan verb, intransitive verbA verb meaning to build a nest or to nest, often with the nuance of an animal settling and making its home somewhere. Use it when describing creatures nesting or taking up residence in a place.
• 棲むすむCommon
  godan verb, intransitive verbA verb for animals living in or inhabiting a place, glossed also as 'to nest'. It centers on dwelling or habitation rather than nest-building, so it suits sentences about where animals live.
  コロンブスがアメリカ大陸あめりかたいりくを発見はっけんしたとき、バイソン（アメリカ野牛やぎゅう）は、広大こうだいな地域ちいきに棲すんでいた。↗

  When Columbus discovered America, bison (American buffalo) inhabited a wide-ranging area.

Use 巣 or 「ネスト」 for the noun 'nest' (巣 is the native word, 「ネスト」 the loanword), and the verbs 「巣食う」 or 「棲む」 when 'nest' is used as a verb meaning to nest or dwell.

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

• 巣すnest
• ネストnest
• 巣くうすくうto build a nest
• 棲むすむto live (of animals)
• 入れ子いれこnest (of boxes)
• 巣籠るすごもるto nest
• 入れ子にするいれこにするto nest
• ねぐらroost
• 巣をくうすをくうto build a nest
• 巣窟そうくつden
• 住処すみかden (of criminals, demons, etc.)
• 寝所ねどころroost
• 組み入れくみいれnesting (e.g. of matryoshka dolls)