集団
しゅうだん · shuudan · JLPT N3 · noun
group
🐟 集団 = gather (集) + group/ball (団): people gathered into one lump
集 means to collect or gather, as in 集める (atsumeru). 団 means a body or troupe, as in 団体 (dantai). Sound hook: shuu-dan sounds like shoe-done, the whole group has its shoes on and is ready to move as one mass.
集 — bird 隹 on top of tree 木
集 is an ideograph showing a bird (隹) perched on a tree (木). The original form depicted three birds gathering on a tree, later simplified to one. From 'birds flocking together' it extended to mean 'gather, collect, assemble,' and by extension 'collection' or 'volume' of writings.