Collectivization is the name of a big, often painful, change: the government takes farms or businesses that people owned themselves and joins them into large groups that the state owns and runs.

Collectivization集體化 is the name of a big, often painful, change指的是一個巨大、常常很痛苦的變革：the government它是政府 takes farms or businesses that people owned themselves把人民自己擁有的農場或企業拿走，and joins them into large groups然後合併成大型的集體，that the state owns and runs由國家擁有和經營。

You hear this word most in history and politics, about Communist systems in the twentieth century — the Soviet Union in the 1930s is the famous case, and China had its own drive too. It is a formal word, not something you use about a class sharing snacks.

You你 hear this word most in history and politics最常在歷史和政治裡聽到這個詞，about Communist systems in the twentieth century講的是二十世紀的共產體制——the Soviet Union in the 1930s一九三零年代的蘇聯 is the famous case是最有名的例子，and China had its own drive too中國也有自己的一波。It它 is a formal word是個正式的詞，not something you use about a class sharing snacks不是用來形容班上分享零食的那種話。

Though actually, the tidy school sentence ('everyone farms together') hides the hard part: private owners lose the land or shop, and the joining is ordered from above, not volunteered.

Though actually不過事實上，the tidy school sentence ('everyone farms together')課本裡那句整齊的『大家一起種田』 hides the hard part掩蓋了艱難的部分：private owners lose the land or shop私人業主失去了土地或店面，and the joining is ordered from above而合併是由上面下令的，not volunteered不是自願的。

Writers sometimes stretch it a little, to any official plan that pulls private things into one shared pile under state control, but the home meaning is still that Communist farm-and-business policy.

Writers作家們 sometimes stretch it a little有時候會把這個詞稍微延伸，to any official plan用在任何官方計畫上 that pulls private things into one shared pile under state control把私人的東西拉進國家控制下的共同一堆，but the home meaning is still但本來的意思仍然是 that Communist farm-and-business policy那種共產式的農業和企業政策。