A collective noun is the name we give to a collection of nouns to refer to them as a whole. The most common method of doing this is by using words like “group” or “bunch” that can be applicable to most nouns in the language today:

“a ______ of ______”

Common examples: ‘a group of people’ or ‘a bunch of flowers’…

But there are some specific names given for certain collections of nouns to make things more interesting and can mostly only be used for that one group. Later in this post, we’ll see how we can create our own collective nouns to be more creative and funny.

These collective nouns are commonly used for groups of people:
a class of students
an army of soldiers
a choir of singers
a crew of sailors
a band of musicians
a crowd of spectators
a pack of thieves
a team of players
a troupe of dancers
a gang of crooks
a staff of employees
a regiment of soldiers
a tribe of natives
an audience of listeners
a panel of experts
a gang of laborers
a flock of tourists
a board of directors

The following collective nouns are used specifically for animals:

a school of fish
a gaggle of geese
an army of ants
a flock of birds
a haul of fish
a hive of bees
a flock of sheep
a herd of cattle
a litter of cubs
a host of sparrows
a team of horses
a pride of lions
a pack of wolves
a litter of puppies
a swarm of flies
a murder of crows
a kennel of dogs

The following collective nouns are used for objects:

a chain of islands
a galaxy of stars
a wad of notes
a forest of trees
a stack of wood
a fleet of ships
a string of pearls
an album of photos
a hedge of bushes
a library of books
a basket of fruit
a bowl of rice
a deck of cards
a pair of shoes
a set of keys
a chest of drawers
a pack of lies
a range of mountains
a cloud of dust

Collective nouns are pretty much endless and these are just a small list of those used more often. As you continue to work on improving your English, you will stumble across many many more. Be sure to add them to your language iceberg and use them as frequently as you can!

And look, we can even create our own:

And how about we create some specifically for China? Leave your suggestions in the comments below~

1. a ______ of dumplings
2. a ______ of ayis
3. a ______ of taxi drivers
4. a ______ of dancing grannies
5. a ______ of hongbaos
6. a ______ of jianbing
7. a ______ of Youku videos
8. a ______ of Tsingtao
9. a ______ of Wechat groups
10. a ______ of chopsticks