集める|あつめるatsumeru[3]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Definitions
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto collect; to assemble; to gather
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 集める（あつめる） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 集めます（あつめます） |
| Negative (nai) | 集めない（あつめない） |
| polite (masen) | 集めません（あつめません） |
| classical zu / nu | 集めず・集めぬ（あつめず・あつめぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 集めた（あつめた） |
| polite (mashita) | 集めました（あつめました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 集めなかった（あつめなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 集めませんでした（あつめませんでした） |
| Te form | 集めて（あつめて） |
| Potential | 集められる（あつめられる） |
| Passive | 集められる（あつめられる） |
| Causative | 集めさせる（あつめさせる） |
| Causative passive | 集めさせられる（あつめさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 集めれば（あつめれば） |
| tara | 集めたら（あつめたら） |
| Volitional | 集めよう（あつめよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 集めましょう（あつめましょう） |
| Imperative | 集めろ（あつめろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Transitive / intransitive pair
人が人を集める
集まる describes people or things coming together on their own, while 集める describes someone deliberately gathering them.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym収集しゅうしゅうWrittenSino-Japanese word for collecting, covering hobby collections and garbage collection, as in 「ごみ収集」 and 「切手の収集」; more written than 「集める」.
- Synonym採集さいしゅうWrittenWritten word for collecting specimens or materials for research, as in 「昆虫採集」; implies fieldwork sampling rather than general gathering.
- Synonym集結しゅうけつWrittenWritten word for massing forces, as in 「兵を集結する」; used chiefly in military contexts.
- Synonymかき集めるかきあつめるCasualColloquial; desperately raking up things that lie scattered, as in 「金をかき集める」; has a strained, barely-enough feel.
- Related集合しゅうごうWrittenNoun, usually as the intransitive 「集合する」, for people or things gathering, as in 「駅に集合」; 「集める」 is transitive, bringing them together.
- Related集積しゅうせきWrittenWritten word for things piling up in large quantities, as in 「産業集積」; stresses the scale of what accumulates.
- Related拾うひろうNeutralPicking up dropped things one by one, as in 「ごみを拾う」; narrower than 「集める」, which covers gathering as a whole.
- Related寄せ集めるよせあつめるCasualColloquial; piecing together odds and ends from all over, as in 「寄せ集めのチーム」; suggests a haphazard, patchwork result.
- Related溜め込むためこむCasualColloquial; hoarding things away, as in 「お金を溜め込む」; stresses that what comes in never goes out.
- Related呼び集めるよびあつめるNeutralGathering people, birds or animals by calling them to one place, as in 「生徒を呼び集める」; 「集める」 is not limited to calling.
- Antonym散らすちらすNeutralAntonym: scattering things apart instead of gathering them, as in 「火花を散らす」.
- AntonymばらまくCasualColloquial antonym: strewing or handing out things far and wide, as in 「チラシをばら撒く」.
「集める」 is the default for gathering. Use 「収集」 for hobby collections or garbage, 「採集」 for research specimens, 「かき集める」 for scraping things up, 「寄せ集める」 for makeshift mixes, 「拾う」 for picking up, and 「溜め込む」 for hoarding; 「散らす」 and 「ばら撒く」 are opposites.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
