集まる

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 集まる is read あつまる and means several people or things gathering in one place.
• Basic usage: It is used for participants assembling after a signal or birds gathering at a lighthouse in the evening.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Compared with 集める
  • 参加者が広場に集まる describes participants gathering. 参加者を集める describes someone gathering the participants, illustrating the intransitive–transitive contrast between 集まる and 集める.