Semantic relations

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Semantic relation is a formalized relationship between entities in a knowledge graph, which can be normalized to a finite core set of predicates: subtype (is‑a), instance (instance‑of), part–whole (part‑of), member-of-collection, location/adjacency, before/after, participation/role, property/value, causality, identity/difference, ownership, and opposition. This page documents canonical formulations and synonyms, logical properties, and mappings to standards (RDF/RDFS, SKOS, OWL/OWL‑Time, GeoSPARQL, OBO RO/BFO, PROV‑O, Schema.org).

Core Semantic Relations: Normalization and Synonym Dictionary

Formalism (simplified) Core Relation (canonical term) Normalization to Core (Eng.) Natural Verb, Phrase (synonyms) Category Type (semantic layer / usage mode) Key Property
subclass-of / superclass-of Subtype (genus–species) is a kind of / has subtype
  • is a (genus–species)
  • is a (genus–species)
  • subtype of
  • kind of
  • type of
 Taxonomy Ontological (core) transitive; inheritance of class axioms/restrictions (not property values)
instance-of / has-instance Instance is an instance of / has instance
  • is an (instance)
  • is an (instance)
  • belongs to class
  • is a member of class
  • representative of
  • instance of
 Taxonomy Ontological (core) individual → class; non-transitive
part-of / has-part Part–whole (meronymy) is part of / includes
  • consists of
  • includes
  • has as a component
  • contains as a part
  • is assembled from
  • is composed of
 Meronymy Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints) transitive for component meronymy; do not confuse with member-of; no inheritance of property values; transitivity does not extend to "member–collection," "material–object," or "portion–mass" types; do not confuse with subclass-of (genus–species)
derived-from / gives-rise-to Origin/derivation is derived from / gives rise to
  • is obtained from
  • is formed from
  • originates from
  • is derived from
 Provenance Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints) directed; non-symmetric; allows for chains
has-property / property-of Property/attribute has property / property of
  • has property
  • has value
  • possesses feature
  • is characterized by
  • has parameter
 Attribute Ontological (core) directed; non-symmetric; non-transitive; for qualities, use the has_quality/characteristic_of pattern
located-in / contains Location (containment) is located in / contains (as a location)
  • is located in
  • is situated in
  • is inside
  • is within the area of
  • is on the territory of
 Space Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints) directed; transitive only for containment of regions within a single spatial model; transitivity is not assumed in other interpretations
before / after Chronology precedes / follows
  • is earlier than
  • is before
  • comes before
  • is later than
  • is after
  • then
 Time Ontological (core) transitive; asymmetric; irreflexive (strict partial order)
precondition-of / postcondition-of Condition/result of an event/action is a precondition for / is a postcondition of
  • condition for execution
  • precondition
  • is necessary for
  • is required for
  • result
  • effect
  • consequence
 Events Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints) directed; non-symmetric; usually acyclic; contextual
participates-in / has-participant Participation in an event participates in / has participant
  • participates in
  • is involved in
  • is engaged in
  • takes part in
 Events Ontological (core) directed; non-symmetric; non-transitive
has-role / role-of Role (thematic) performs role / role of
  • performs the role of
  • acts in the role of
  • acts as
  • serves as
  • is an agent
  • is a patient
  • is an instrument
 Roles Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints) directed; non-symmetric; realized in an event/process
member-of / has-member Member of a collection is a member of / has member
  • belongs to a group
  • is on a team
  • member of a collection
  • is in a group
  • element of a set
 Collections/membership (not meronymy) Ontological (core) directed; non-symmetric; non-transitive; do not confuse with part-of (components)
causes / caused-by Causality causes / is caused by
  • leads to
  • causes
  • entails
  • determines
  • results in
  • is the cause of
 Cause-and-effect Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints) directed; asymmetric; acyclic within domain time; for weak influence, use prov:wasInfluencedBy
owns / owned-by (belongs-to) Ownership/possession owns / is owned by
  • owns
  • is the owner of
  • is in possession of
  • is on the books of
  • belongs to
 Possession Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints) directed; non-symmetric; non-transitive; distinguish legal ownership from factual possession (do not confuse with located-in)
same-as / same-as (symm.) Identity (equivalence) is identical to / is identical to
  • is identical to
  • is the same as
  • is equivalent to
  • the same thing as
  • coincides with
 Equivalence Ontological (core; use with caution) reflexive; symmetric; transitive
different-from / different-from (symm.) Difference/incompatibility is different from / is different from
  • is not identical to
  • is distinct from
  • is incompatible with
  • does not coincide with
 Difference Ontological (core) symmetric; irreflexive
adjacent-to / adjacent-to (symm.) Adjacency (topology) is adjacent to / is adjacent to
  • borders on
  • abuts
  • is next to
  • is in contact with
 Topology Ontological (core) symmetric; irreflexive; non-transitive
opposite-of / opposite-of (symm.) Opposition (antonymy) is the opposite of / is the opposite of
  • is opposite to
  • is antonymous with
  • is opposite in quality
  • is contrary to
  • is contrasted with
 Lexical-semantics Lexical/Thesaurus-based (do not axiomatize) lexical-semantic relation; symmetric; do not use as an ontological axiom; preferably modeled via qualitative scales and class disjointness

Type Legend:

  • Ontological (core) — Allows for axiomatization in OWL without special constraints;
  • Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints) — Interpretation and inferences depend on the domain/model;
  • Lexical/Thesaurus-based (do not axiomatize) — Used only for lexicons/KOS, not for logical inference.

Mapping Core Semantic Relations to Ontology Standards

Core Relation (formal) Core Relation (canonical term) RDF/RDFS/Dublin Core SKOS OWL / OWL‑Time / GeoSPARQL OBO RO / BFO (if any) Schema.org / other Notes
subclass-of Subtype (genus–species) rdfs:subClassOf skos:broader / skos:narrower — (OWL uses rdfs:subClassOf) — — Class hierarchy; transitive; inheritance of axioms/restrictions (not values). In SKOS, it represents a thesaurus hierarchy (non-transitive by default; skos:broaderTransitive / skos:narrowerTransitive are available). Class equivalence is defined separately: owl:equivalentClass.
instance-of Instance rdf:type — owl:Class / owl:NamedIndividual — schema:additionalType Typing "individual → class" (non-transitive). Multiple typing is allowed. Do not confuse with subclass-of (class → class).
part-of / has-part Part–whole (meronymy) dcterms:isPartOf / dcterms:hasPart — custom owl:ObjectProperty (often declared as owl:TransitiveProperty) bfo:part_of / bfo:has_part ; ro:part_of / ro:has_part schema:isPartOf / schema:hasPart Structural/component meronymy; transitive for component "part_of". Do not confuse with membership (member-of).
member-of / has-member Member of a collection rdfs:member skos:member / skos:memberList — ro:member_of / ro:has_member schema:member / schema:memberOf ; org:memberOf / org:hasMember rdfs:member historically relates to RDF containers; it is a super-property of numbered container properties rdf:_1, rdf:_2, ...; for groups/organizations, schema.org or W3C ORG are preferred. Non-transitive. Different from component–whole.
located-in / contains Location (containment) dcterms:spatial — geosparql:sfWithin / geosparql:sfContains ro:located_in schema:containedInPlace / schema:containsPlace ; schema:location For strict geometry, use GeoSPARQL (DE‑9IM; region inclusion). In GeoSPARQL, transitivity is not annotated as owl:TransitiveProperty; it can be assumed by the model for regional hierarchies. dcterms:spatial provides a "soft" referential link. In RO, ro:located_in is declared as transitive; at the application level, specify the domain/type of location (e.g., administrative, anatomical) to ensure transitivity is valid in your model.
adjacent-to / overlaps Adjacency / overlap (topology) — (if needed) skos:related geosparql:sfTouches / geosparql:sfOverlaps — — Different relations (touches ≠ overlaps); both are symmetric; non-transitive. In DE‑9IM terms: touches means boundaries intersect; overlaps means interiors have a non-empty intersection.
before / after Temporal sequence (before/after) — — time:before / time:after ; also time:intervalBefore / time:intervalAfter bfo:precedes / bfo:preceded_by — Modeled as a strict partial order. In OWL‑Time, transitivity is explicitly defined; asymmetry/irreflexivity can be specified with axioms in a project ontology if needed.
participates-in / has-participant Participation in an event — — — ro:participates_in / ro:has_participant sem:hasActor / lode:involvedAgent ; prov:wasAssociatedWith ; prov:qualifiedAssociation ; schema:participant / schema:attendee / schema:performer Participation ≠ role; for roles, see has-role.
has-role / role-of Role (thematic roles) — — custom owl:ObjectProperty ro:has_role / ro:role_of ; bfo:Role prov:hadRole (within prov:qualifiedAssociation) ; schema:Role (class), schema:roleName Roles are realized in events/processes; do not confuse with typing (instance-of).
has-property / has-value Property / value rdf:value (general value attachment) — owl:DatatypeProperty / owl:ObjectProperty (property types) ro:has_quality / ro:characteristic_of schema:additionalProperty ; schema:value ; schema:PropertyValue / schema:QuantitativeValue For qualities, the RO pattern (quality/characteristic of) is useful. owl:hasValue is a constructor in restrictions (not a regular property).
causes Causality — — — ro:causally_related_to ; ro:causally_upstream_of / ro:causally_downstream_of prov:wasInfluencedBy Directed causal link; usually acyclic. Specify the temporal context and scope.
same-as Identity (equivalence) — skos:exactMatch / skos:closeMatch owl:sameAs ; for classes/properties: owl:equivalentClass / owl:equivalentProperty — schema:sameAs Use with caution. skos:exactMatch/closeMatch are only for SKOS concepts, mainly across different schemes (mapping properties); of the mapping properties, only skos:exactMatch is transitive (both are symmetric); do not confuse with owl:sameAs (resource identity).
different-from Difference / incompatibility — — owl:differentFrom ; owl:AllDifferent ; for classes: owl:disjointWith ; also owl:AllDisjointClasses / owl:AllDisjointProperties — — Explicit distinction between individuals and non-overlapping classes/properties (on sets, use AllDisjoint).
owns / owned-by (belongs-to) Ownership / possession — — custom owl:ObjectProperty — schema:owns ; schema:OwnershipInfo It is recommended to define domain/range and cardinalities; distinguish legal ownership from factual possession (do not confuse with located-in).
opposite-of Opposition (antonymy) — — — — (lexicon) lexinfo:antonym ; WordNet antonym Lexical relation; do not use as an ontological axiom. In a KOS, skos:related may be used if a strict property is absent.
derived-from / gives-rise-to Origin / derivation — — — (if needed in bio-ontologies) ro:develops_from PROV‑O: prov:wasDerivedFrom Directed derivation; allows for chains. Differentiate from meronymy (part-of) and identity (same-as).
precondition-of / postcondition-of Pre-/post-condition of an event/action — — — — OWL‑S (W3C Member Submission): process:hasPrecondition ; process:hasResult (historically: process:hasEffect) Use for process ontologies. In alternative models, can be represented via causality/time (bfo:precedes, time:before) or PROV patterns (prov:used, prov:wasGeneratedBy) depending on context.
related-to Associative relation (KOS) — skos:related — — — Symmetric; non-transitive. Use only in thesauri/KOS; weak semantics — not for logical inference.

Key Ontologies and Vocabularies

  • RDF and RDFS (W3C) — RDF: An abstract model for knowledge graphs based on subject–predicate–object triples; RDFS: A minimal vocabulary for defining classes, properties, and hierarchies (subClassOf, subPropertyOf, domain/range).
  • OWL / OWL 2 (W3C) — A knowledge representation language for formally defining ontologies (classes, axioms, property types and inverses, equivalence/disjointness), designed for automated reasoning in Description Logic (DL).
  • SKOS (W3C) — A model for representing thesauri, classifications, and controlled vocabularies on top of RDF/RDFS (broader/narrower/related, collections, inter-thesaurus mappings); does not define class inheritance.
  • OWL‑Time (W3C) — An ontology for time in OWL 2 DL: instants, intervals, topological relations (before/after), durations, and calendar-temporal positions.
  • GeoSPARQL (OGC) — An OGC standard for geo-semantics: a small OWL ontology of "spatial features/geometries," a vocabulary of topological relations (within/contains, touches/overlaps, etc.), and SPARQL extensions for geo-queries.
  • BFO and RO (OBO) — BFO: A top-level ontology (continuant/occurrent, etc.) for aligning domain ontologies; RO (Relations Ontology): A cross-domain set of relational predicates (part_of/has_part, participates_in, causal, etc.).
  • PROV‑O (W3C) — An OWL ontology for data provenance that implements the PROV‑DM model: entities, activities, agents, and their relationships for exchanging and analyzing provenance information.
  • Schema.org — An applied web vocabulary for marking up structured data on web pages (JSON‑LD/RDFa/Microdata); a search engine initiative (2011) to unify types and properties on the open web.
Name Body / Status Official Documentation
RDF 1.2 Concepts and Abstract Data Model W3C Working Draft (2025) Specification Page
RDF 1.2 Schema (RDFS) W3C Working Draft (2025; revision of the 2014 version with no technical changes) Specification Page
DCMI Metadata Terms (Dublin Core Terms) DCMI Specification (2020) Specification Page
OWL 2 Web Ontology Language W3C Recommendation (2012, 2nd Ed.) Overview/Roadmap of OWL 2 Specifications
SKOS Reference W3C Recommendation (2009) Specification Page
Time Ontology in OWL (OWL‑Time) W3C Candidate Recommendation Draft (2022) Specification Page
GeoSPARQL 1.1 OGC Implementation Standard OGC Standard Page · Standard Document (OGC 22‑047r1)
Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) OBO Foundry (upper ontology) Official Card/Documentation
OBO Relations Ontology (RO) OBO Foundry (relations) Official Card/Documentation
PROV‑O: The PROV Ontology W3C Recommendation (2013) Specification Page
The Organization Ontology (ORG) W3C Recommendation (2014) Specification Page
Schema.org (documentation) Official project documentation Schemas and Documentation
LexInfo (lexical-semantic ontology) Official website/ontology Official Website · OWL 3.0
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