群 (qún) is the classifier for a collection of many individuals seen as one mass — a crowd of people, a herd of sheep, a flock of birds, a pack of wolves, a swarm of bees. Where English reaches for a different word depending on the animal (a herd of cattle but a flock of geese but a pack of dogs), Chinese uses one word for all of them: 群. This is a genuinely efficient corner of the language — learn 群 once and you can group anything that comes in numbers.
群 is a collective — it already means "many"
The single most important thing to understand about 群 is that it is a collective measure. 一群 does not mean "one" of anything; it means "a whole group of." The quantity is baked in. So 一群人 is a crowd of people, 三群羊 is three flocks of sheep — three separate herds, not three sheep.
| Noun | With 群 | English |
|---|---|---|
| 人 (rén) | 一群人 (yì qún rén) | a crowd of people |
| 羊 (yáng) | 一群羊 (yì qún yáng) | a flock of sheep |
| 孩子 (háizi) | 一群孩子 (yì qún háizi) | a bunch of kids |
| 鸟 (niǎo) | 一群鸟 (yì qún niǎo) | a flock of birds |
| 狼 (láng) | 一群狼 (yì qún láng) | a pack of wolves |
| 蜜蜂 (mìfēng) | 一群蜜蜂 (yì qún mìfēng) | a swarm of bees |
广场上聚集了一大群人。
guǎngchǎng shang jùjí le yí dà qún rén
A big crowd gathered in the square. (neutral) — 一大群 (a large crowd) intensifies the collective.
山坡上有一群羊在吃草。
shānpō shang yǒu yì qún yáng zài chī cǎo
There's a flock of sheep grazing on the hillside. (neutral) — one herd, seen as a mass.
一群孩子在操场上踢足球。
yì qún háizi zài cāochǎng shang tī zúqiú
A bunch of kids are playing soccer on the field. (informal) — a lively group of children.
天上飞过一群大雁。
tiān shang fēi guò yì qún dàyàn
A flock of wild geese flew overhead. (neutral, slightly literary) — birds in flight are a classic 群.
The human touch: neutral, warm, or dismissive
With people, 群 takes on a shade of feeling from its context. It can be perfectly neutral (一群游客, a group of tourists), warm and lively (一群老朋友, a bunch of old friends), or faintly dismissive — lumping people together as an undifferentiated mass can imply you don't think much of them.
一群游客围着导游拍照。
yì qún yóukè wéi zhe dǎoyóu pāizhào
A group of tourists crowded around the guide taking photos. (neutral).
楼下那群年轻人吵得我整晚没睡好。
lóuxià nà qún niánqīngrén chǎo de wǒ zhěng wǎn méi shuì hǎo
That bunch of young people downstairs kept me up all night. (informal, mildly annoyed) — 群 lumping them together carries a hint of disapproval.
This is why, in a respectful context, you would not fold honored individuals into a 群. If you want to count people politely one by one, use 位 instead — 群 and 位 sit at opposite ends of the register scale.
A modern twist: 群 as a countable noun
In the smartphone era, 群 also became an ordinary noun meaning a chat group (微信群, a WeChat group; 群聊, group chat). When 群 is the object being counted rather than the classifier doing the counting, it takes the general classifier 个 — 一个群, 三个群. This is a neat illustration of the difference between a measure word and a noun.
我微信里有好几个群都不怎么说话。
wǒ Wēixìn lǐ yǒu hǎojǐ ge qún dōu bù zěnme shuōhuà
I have several chat groups on WeChat that are mostly silent. (informal) — here 群 is a noun ('chat group'), counted with 个, not the classifier 群.
Common Mistakes
1. Counting members inside the collective count. 一群 already covers the quantity; you can't stack a head-count on top.
❌ 门口站着一群三个人。
Incorrect — 一群 already means 'a crowd'; either say 一群人 (a crowd) or 三个人 (three people), not both.
✅ 门口站着一群人。
ménkǒu zhàn zhe yì qún rén
A crowd of people is standing at the entrance. — the collective 群 alone.
2. Using 个 when you mean a crowd. For a mass of individuals, the vivid, natural choice is the collective 群.
❌ 天上有很多个鸟。
Unnatural — birds massed together are a flock: 一群鸟 / 很多鸟. (A single bird would be 一只鸟.)
✅ 天上有一群鸟。
tiān shang yǒu yì qún niǎo
There's a flock of birds in the sky. — 群 for the collective.
3. Using 群 for just two or a handful. 群 implies a real crowd; a small fixed pair or a couple of items is not a 群.
❌ 桌上放着一群书。
Incorrect — two or three books aren't a 'crowd'; count them: 几本书 / 两本书. 群 needs many.
✅ 桌上放着几本书。
zhuō shang fàng zhe jǐ běn shū
There are a few books on the table. — use the proper classifier and quantity, not 群.
4. Using 二 instead of 两. For "two groups," it is 两群.
❌ 二群学生
Incorrect — before a measure word 'two' is 两, not 二.
✅ 两群学生
liǎng qún xuésheng
two groups of students — 两群, not 二群.
Key Takeaways
- 群 (qún) is the collective classifier for crowds, herds, flocks, packs, and swarms: 一群人, 一群羊, 一群孩子, 一群鸟, 一群狼, 一群蜜蜂.
- One word replaces English's crowd / herd / flock / pack / swarm — pick 群 for any mass of many individuals.
- 一群 already means "many" — don't add a member count (no 一群三个人) and don't reach for 个.
- Scale the crowd with modifiers: 一大群 (a big crowd), 一小群 (a small cluster).
- With people, 群 can sound neutral, warm, or faintly dismissive; for respect, count individuals with 位.
- The modern noun 群 ("chat group") is counted with 个: 三个群.
- Use 两, not 二: 两群羊.
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
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- 些 and 点儿 (Some / A Little)HSK 1 — 些 (xiē) and 点儿 (diǎnr) are indefinite measure words that fill the classifier slot — Number/Demonstrative + 些/点儿 + Noun — so they never take 个 and never follow a bare number above 一: 一些书, 这些人, 一点儿水.
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