Translation guide
The English word 'collecting' can refer to gathering items as a hobby, accumulating things, or bringing things together. This guide covers natural Japanese expressions for these different meanings.
Expressing the act of collecting items for enjoyment, such as stamps, coins, or figurines.
The standard term for collecting as a hobby. Often used with the object marked by を.
彼は切手を収集している。
He collects stamps.
A general verb meaning 'to gather' or 'to collect'. Can be used for hobbies but is broader.
私は古いコインを集めています。
I collect old coins.
Loanword from English, often used for modern collecting hobbies. Sounds slightly more casual or trendy.
彼女はフィギュアをコレクションしている。
She collects figurines.
Bringing things or people into one place, such as collecting donations, gathering information, or assembling a group.
Transitive verb meaning 'to collect' or 'to gather'. Used for actively bringing things together.
アンケートを集めています。
We are collecting questionnaires.
彼は署名を集めた。
He collected signatures.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to gather' or 'to come together'. Used when things or people gather by themselves.
Means 'to collect' in the sense of retrieving or recovering items, often used for recycling, waste, or distributed materials.
古紙を回収しています。
We are collecting waste paper.
Gradually building up a quantity of something, such as data, dust, or experience.
Formal term for accumulating or amassing, often used for data, knowledge, or wealth.
データを蓄積する。
To accumulate data.
Casual verb meaning 'to accumulate' or 'to store up', often used for things like stress, money, or tasks. Can have a negative nuance.
ストレスを溜めないでください。
Don't accumulate stress.
Receiving money owed, such as bills, taxes, or fares.
Going to get a person or thing from a place, such as collecting a child from school or a parcel from the post office.
Used for picking up people, like from school or the station. Literally 'go to meet'.
子供を学校に迎えに行く。
To pick up the child from school.
Means 'to receive' or 'to pick up' an item, like a package or ticket.
荷物を受け取りに行く。
To go pick up a package.
Used for collecting or taking custody of something, often in formal contexts like lost property or an animal.
集める is a general verb for gathering things, while 収集する specifically implies systematic collecting as a hobby or for a purpose. Use 収集する for stamp collections, data collection, etc.
趣味で切手を収集している。
I collect stamps as a hobby.
落ち葉を集めて遊んだ。
We gathered fallen leaves and played.
コレクションする is only for hobby collecting. It sounds unnatural for collecting data, payments, or people.
私は珍しい本を収集するのが趣味です。
I enjoy collecting rare books.
彼らは慈善団体のために寄付を集めています。
They are collecting donations for the charity.
カウンターでチケットをお受け取りください。
Please collect your tickets at the counter.
公園に人が集まった。
People gathered in the park.
Literally 'to pile up', used metaphorically for accumulating efforts, experience, or achievements.
経験を積み重ねる。
To accumulate experience.
To collect lost property.