Translation guide
How to express that things or people are gathered together, often passively or as a state. Covers physical collection, data gathering, and people assembling.
Expressing that items, objects, or materials are collected or accumulated, often passively or as a result of an action.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to gather' or 'to be collected'. Used for people or things coming together spontaneously or as a result of an action.
古い切手がたくさん集まった。
A lot of old stamps were collected.
募金が集まった。
Donations were collected.
Passive form of 集める (to collect). Emphasizes that something is collected by someone or something.
データが集められた。
Data was collected.
Passive form of 収集する (to collect/gather). More formal, often used for systematic collection like data or artifacts.
貴重な資料が収集された。
Valuable materials were collected.
Expressing that people come together in one place, either spontaneously or as an organized event.
Intransitive verb for people gathering. Very common.
公園に人が集まった。
People gathered in the park.
会議に社員が集まった。
Employees assembled for the meeting.
More formal verb for assembling, often used for scheduled gatherings or groups.
参加者は8時に集合した。
Participants assembled at 8 o'clock.
Expressing that data, information, or feedback is gathered, often for analysis or records.
Can be used for data or information gathering in a natural way.
アンケートの回答が集まった。
Survey responses were collected.
Passive of 収集する, common in technical or formal contexts for data collection.
個人情報が収集される。
Personal information is collected.
Specifically for data being aggregated or tallied, not just collected.
投票結果が集計された。
The voting results were tallied.
Expressing that money, donations, or payments are gathered.
集まる is intransitive and focuses on the state of being gathered. 集められる is passive and implies an agent doing the collecting. Use 集まる for natural, spontaneous gathering or when the agent is unimportant.
English often uses passive 'be collected', but Japanese often prefers intransitive verbs like 集まる when the agent is not important. Using passive unnecessarily can sound unnatural.