大勢
おおぜい
oozei
= a large number of people; a crowd; many people
大勢 (oozei) means a large number of people — a crowd, a throng, a mass of humanity. It is exclusively used for people, not things, making it distinct from 多い (ooi — many) which works for objects and quantities. In a country where crowd density at events, train stations, and tourist spots is a regular feature of daily life, oozei is an indispensable word.
Oozei (大勢) is a noun meaning a large crowd or a great number of people. Key usage: 大勢の人 (oozei no hito — a large number of people), 大勢が集まる (oozei ga atsumaru — a crowd gathers), 大勢の前で話す (oozei no mae de hanasu — to speak in front of a large audience). Important: 大勢 is only for people. For things, use たくさん (takusan — many) or 多くの (ooku no — many). Opposite: 少数 (shousuu — a small number), 少人数 (shou-ninzuu — a small number of people).
大勢 (oozei) is only used for people, and specifically for large, somewhat indeterminate crowds — not a precise count. If you want to say exactly ‘100 people’ you’d say 百人 (hyaku-nin). The alternate reading 大勢 (taisei) means ‘the general trend’ or ‘the flow of the times’ (大勢に従う — taisei ni shitagau — to go with the flow of the times) — be aware that the same characters have two very different readings and meanings depending on context.
大勢 (oozei) combines 大 (oo/dai — large, big) + 勢 (sei/ikoi — force, energy, momentum, number of troops). The 勢 character originally referred to military force or numbers of soldiers — its use for ‘number of people’ retains that sense of collective mass and power. The same 勢 appears in 勢力 (seiryoku — influence, force) and 大勢 (taisei — general trend, the larger current of events) — note that 大勢 as taisei (the dominant trend) is a different reading/meaning.
Everyday use
花火大会には大勢の人が集まった。
Hanabi taikai ni wa oozei no hito ga atsumatta.
A large crowd gathered for the fireworks festival.
Casual / Social Media
渋谷のスクランブル交差点、大勢すぎて毎回圧倒される
Shibuya no sukuranburu kousaten, oozei sugite maikai attousareru
The Shibuya scramble crossing — so many people every time, always overwhelming
Formal / Cultural context
公共空間における大勢の群衆行動は、個人の動線が集団的フロー場に統合される物理現象として交通工学および群衆安全管理の観点から研究されており、日本では過密イベント時の避難誘導計画に応用されている。
Koukyou kuukan ni okeru oozei no gunshuu koudou wa, kojin no dousen ga shudanteki furoo-ba ni tougou sareru butsurigenshou toshite koutsuu kougaku oyobi gunshuu anzen kanri no kanten kara kenkyuu sarete ori, Nihon de wa kamitsu ibento-ji no hinan yuudou keikaku ni ouyou sarete iru.
Crowd behavior involving large numbers of people in public spaces is studied from the perspective of traffic engineering and crowd safety management as a physical phenomenon in which individual movement paths are integrated into collective flow fields, and in Japan this research has been applied to evacuation guidance planning at high-density events.
日本では大勢の人が集まる場面は生活の一部です。初詣 (hatsumoudeのThe New Year’s shrine visit) sees millions converge on major shrines like Meiji Jingu and Naritasan over the first three days of January — the management of 大勢 becomes a logistical operation requiring coordinated crowd flow and police presence. The Shibuya Scramble Crossing (渋谷スクランブル交差点), where up to 3,000 people cross simultaneously during peak hours, has become internationally famous as a symbol of Tokyo’s organized chaos.
Japanese culture has developed sophisticated norms for navigating 大勢 — the unwritten rules of crowded spaces. On packed commuter trains, the rule of silence (talking loudly, taking calls) is especially strict precisely because 大勢 are present and privacy is impossible. Crowds at festivals and events operate on implicit agreement about flow and space: Japanese crowds are notably orderly compared to those of many other countries, with people queuing in lines, maintaining direction, and avoiding the pushing and shoving common in dense crowds elsewhere.
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