羣

• Concrete: A flock or herd of animals.
• Social: A group, crowd, or multitude of people; a collective where the individual is subsumed by the group.
• Abstract/Categorical: A class, species, or set of things sharing common characteristics.

• Noun/Modifier: The group or collective.
• Classifier: Used for groups of animals, stars, or other naturally clustering entities; emphasizes the unity of the set over a specific number of individuals.
• Verb: To flock together or congregate.

Contrast with 眾 (zhòng): while 眾 typically emphasizes quantity, the sheer number of people, or "the public/masses," 羣 emphasizes the nature of the grouping—individuals who belong together because they are of a certain sort.

The forms 羣 and 群 are functionally identical; the difference is orthographic evolution and does not carry semantic weight.

The glyph originates from the image of sheep huddling together.

Exercise caution with terms like "mob" or "the masses." In an ancient context, 羣 is often a neutral description of natural clustering; avoid importing modern political connotations unless the surrounding text explicitly provides a negative or critical tone.