集う|つどうtsudou[2]nakadaka (mid-high)

Common
Definitions
  1. godan verb, intransitive verbto meet; to assemble; to congregate
    すべての野獣やじゅうが集つどう。↗
    The wild beasts all gather.
Conjugation
Dictionary form集う(つどう)
Polite (masu)集います(つどいます)
Negative (nai)集わない(つどわない)
polite (masen)集いません(つどいません)
classical zu / nu集わず・集わぬ(つどわず・つどわぬ)
Past (ta)集った(つどった)
polite (mashita)集いました(つどいました)
Past negative (nakatta)集わなかった(つどわなかった)
polite (masen deshita)集いませんでした(つどいませんでした)
Te form集って(つどって)
Potential集える(つどえる)
Passive集われる(つどわれる)
Causative集わせる(つどわせる)
Causative passive集わせられる・集わされる(つどわせられる・つどわされる)
Conditional (ba)集えば(つどえば)
tara集ったら(つどったら)
Volitional集おう(つどおう)
polite (mashou)集いましょう(つどいましょう)
Imperative集え(つどえ)

Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.

Synonyms & antonyms
  • Synonym集まるあつまるNeutralThe everyday default for gathering, covering things as well as people; 「集う」 is for people or animals uniting over a shared purpose or interest, with an elegant tone.
  • Synonym会するかいするWrittenWritten/formal verb for people meeting or assembling with a set aim, as in 「一堂に会する」; 「集う」 leans more elegant and lyrical.
  • Synonym寄り集まるよりあつまるNeutralFocuses on scattered people or things drifting together into one place; 「集う」 centers on like-minded people coming together.
  • Synonym集合しゅうごうNeutralAssembling at an agreed time and place, as in 「駅前に集合」; 「集う」 implies no appointment.
  • Synonym集結しゅうけつWrittenMassing, chiefly of troops or forces, as in 「兵力を集結」; it can also be used transitively.
  • Synonym寄り合うよりあうNeutralMeans several people crowding into one spot, but is used less often; 「集う」 is more elegant and usually implies gathering for a common purpose.
  • Related会合かいごうNeutralHighlights a purposeful get-together, as in 「会合を開く」, and works mostly as a noun; 「集う」 is a verb.
  • Related集会しゅうかいNeutralPoints to an organized mass gathering, as in 「集会の自由」; 「集う」 carries no sense of organization.
  • Related参集さんしゅうWrittenWritten word for people arriving and assembling at a place, as in 「会場に参集」; 「集う」 is more elegant and carries the warmth of coming together.
  • Related会同かいどうWrittenA rare written word for gathering in order to hold a meeting; 「集う」 is not limited to meetings and covers coming together generally.
  • RelatedたむろするNeutralGathering in a group and staying put, also troops being stationed; for idle loitering it often sounds negative, like young people hanging around a shop entrance.
  • Antonym散るちるNeutralScatter or fall, as petals do; it is the opposite of 「集う」 in the sense of gathering.
  • Antonym離散するWrittenA written word for dispersal or separation, often of family members torn apart; the opposite of 「集う」, which is about coming together.

Use 「集う」 for an elegant tone when people with a shared purpose or interest come together, as in 「仲間が集う」. For everyday gathering say 「集まる」, for meeting at an agreed time and place 「集合」, for a group hanging out 「屯する」. The opposites are 「散る」 and 「離散する」.

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

Japanese definitions
  1. 同おなじ意思いしを持もった人々ひとびとが集あつまる。寄り合よりあう。
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also

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