---
title: "Semantic relations"
source: "https://systems-analysis.info/eng/Semantic_relations"
wiki: "systems-analysis.info/eng"
article: "Semantic_relations"
language: "en"
categories:
  - "Category:English"
  - "Category:Science"
  - "Category:Semantic network"
revision_id: 344
wiki_created_at: 2026-09-06T22:22:22Z
wiki_modified_at: 2026-09-06T22:22:22Z
downloaded_at: 2026-09-07T22:22:51Z
---

# Semantic relations

**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

<table class="wikitable" style="width:100%;">
<colgroup>
<col style="width: 14%" />
<col style="width: 14%" />
<col style="width: 14%" />
<col style="width: 14%" />
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</colgroup>
<thead>
<tr class="header">
<th>Formalism (simplified)</th>
<th>Core Relation (canonical term)</th>
<th>Normalization to Core (Eng.)</th>
<th>Natural Verb, Phrase (synonyms)</th>
<th>Category</th>
<th>Type (semantic layer / usage mode)</th>
<th>Key Property</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>subclass-of / superclass-of</strong></td>
<td>Subtype (genus–species)</td>
<td>is a kind of / has subtype</td>
<td><ul>
<li>is a (genus–species)</li>
<li>is a (genus–species)</li>
<li>subtype of</li>
<li>kind of</li>
<li>type of</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Taxonomy</td>
<td>Ontological (core)</td>
<td>transitive; inheritance of class axioms/restrictions (not property values)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>instance-of / has-instance</strong></td>
<td>Instance</td>
<td>is an instance of / has instance</td>
<td><ul>
<li>is an (instance)</li>
<li>is an (instance)</li>
<li>belongs to class</li>
<li>is a member of class</li>
<li>representative of</li>
<li>instance of</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Taxonomy</td>
<td>Ontological (core)</td>
<td>individual → class; non-transitive</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>part-of / has-part</strong></td>
<td>Part–whole (meronymy)</td>
<td>is part of / includes</td>
<td><ul>
<li>consists of</li>
<li>includes</li>
<li>has as a component</li>
<li>contains as a part</li>
<li>is assembled from</li>
<li>is composed of</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Meronymy</td>
<td>Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints)</td>
<td>transitive for component meronymy; do not confuse with <code>member-of</code>; no inheritance of property values; transitivity does not extend to "member–collection," "material–object," or "portion–mass" types; do not confuse with <code>subclass-of</code> (genus–species)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>derived-from / gives-rise-to</strong></td>
<td>Origin/derivation</td>
<td>is derived from / gives rise to</td>
<td><ul>
<li>is obtained from</li>
<li>is formed from</li>
<li>originates from</li>
<li>is derived from</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Provenance</td>
<td>Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints)</td>
<td>directed; non-symmetric; allows for chains</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>has-property / property-of</strong></td>
<td>Property/attribute</td>
<td>has property / property of</td>
<td><ul>
<li>has property</li>
<li>has value</li>
<li>possesses feature</li>
<li>is characterized by</li>
<li>has parameter</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Attribute</td>
<td>Ontological (core)</td>
<td>directed; non-symmetric; non-transitive; for qualities, use the <code>has_quality</code>/<code>characteristic_of</code> pattern</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>located-in / contains</strong></td>
<td>Location (containment)</td>
<td>is located in / contains (as a location)</td>
<td><ul>
<li>is located in</li>
<li>is situated in</li>
<li>is inside</li>
<li>is within the area of</li>
<li>is on the territory of</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Space</td>
<td>Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints)</td>
<td>directed; transitive only for containment of regions within a single spatial model; transitivity is not assumed in other interpretations</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>before / after</strong></td>
<td>Chronology</td>
<td>precedes / follows</td>
<td><ul>
<li>is earlier than</li>
<li>is before</li>
<li>comes before</li>
<li>is later than</li>
<li>is after</li>
<li>then</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Time</td>
<td>Ontological (core)</td>
<td>transitive; asymmetric; irreflexive (strict partial order)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>precondition-of / postcondition-of</strong></td>
<td>Condition/result of an event/action</td>
<td>is a precondition for / is a postcondition of</td>
<td><ul>
<li>condition for execution</li>
<li>precondition</li>
<li>is necessary for</li>
<li>is required for</li>
<li>result</li>
<li>effect</li>
<li>consequence</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Events</td>
<td>Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints)</td>
<td>directed; non-symmetric; usually acyclic; contextual</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>participates-in / has-participant</strong></td>
<td>Participation in an event</td>
<td>participates in / has participant</td>
<td><ul>
<li>participates in</li>
<li>is involved in</li>
<li>is engaged in</li>
<li>takes part in</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Events</td>
<td>Ontological (core)</td>
<td>directed; non-symmetric; non-transitive</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>has-role / role-of</strong></td>
<td>Role (thematic)</td>
<td>performs role / role of</td>
<td><ul>
<li>performs the role of</li>
<li>acts in the role of</li>
<li>acts as</li>
<li>serves as</li>
<li>is an agent</li>
<li>is a patient</li>
<li>is an instrument</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Roles</td>
<td>Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints)</td>
<td>directed; non-symmetric; realized in an event/process</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>member-of / has-member</strong></td>
<td>Member of a collection</td>
<td>is a member of / has member</td>
<td><ul>
<li>belongs to a group</li>
<li>is on a team</li>
<li>member of a collection</li>
<li>is in a group</li>
<li>element of a set</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Collections/membership (not meronymy)</td>
<td>Ontological (core)</td>
<td>directed; non-symmetric; non-transitive; do not confuse with <code>part-of</code> (components)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>causes / caused-by</strong></td>
<td>Causality</td>
<td>causes / is caused by</td>
<td><ul>
<li>leads to</li>
<li>causes</li>
<li>entails</li>
<li>determines</li>
<li>results in</li>
<li>is the cause of</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Cause-and-effect</td>
<td>Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints)</td>
<td>directed; asymmetric; acyclic within domain time; for weak influence, use <code>prov:wasInfluencedBy</code></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>owns / owned-by (belongs-to)</strong></td>
<td>Ownership/possession</td>
<td>owns / is owned by</td>
<td><ul>
<li>owns</li>
<li>is the owner of</li>
<li>is in possession of</li>
<li>is on the books of</li>
<li>belongs to</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Possession</td>
<td>Ontological (contextual; requires domain-specific constraints)</td>
<td>directed; non-symmetric; non-transitive; distinguish legal ownership from factual possession (do not confuse with <code>located-in</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>same-as / same-as (symm.)</strong></td>
<td>Identity (equivalence)</td>
<td>is identical to / is identical to</td>
<td><ul>
<li>is identical to</li>
<li>is the same as</li>
<li>is equivalent to</li>
<li>the same thing as</li>
<li>coincides with</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Equivalence</td>
<td>Ontological (core; use with caution)</td>
<td>reflexive; symmetric; transitive</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>different-from / different-from (symm.)</strong></td>
<td>Difference/incompatibility</td>
<td>is different from / is different from</td>
<td><ul>
<li>is not identical to</li>
<li>is distinct from</li>
<li>is incompatible with</li>
<li>does not coincide with</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Difference</td>
<td>Ontological (core)</td>
<td>symmetric; irreflexive</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td><strong>adjacent-to / adjacent-to (symm.)</strong></td>
<td>Adjacency (topology)</td>
<td>is adjacent to / is adjacent to</td>
<td><ul>
<li>borders on</li>
<li>abuts</li>
<li>is next to</li>
<li>is in contact with</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Topology</td>
<td>Ontological (core)</td>
<td>symmetric; irreflexive; non-transitive</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>opposite-of / opposite-of (symm.)</strong></td>
<td>Opposition (antonymy)</td>
<td>is the opposite of / is the opposite of</td>
<td><ul>
<li>is opposite to</li>
<li>is antonymous with</li>
<li>is opposite in quality</li>
<li>is contrary to</li>
<li>is contrasted with</li>
</ul></td>
<td>Lexical-semantics</td>
<td>Lexical/Thesaurus-based (do not axiomatize)</td>
<td>lexical-semantic relation; symmetric; do not use as an ontological axiom; preferably modeled via qualitative scales and class disjointness</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

**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.

## Key Ontologies and Vocabularies: Official Links

| Name                                     | Body / Status                                                                    | Official Documentation                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
|------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| RDF 1.2 Concepts and Abstract Data Model | W3C Working Draft (2025)                                                         | <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/rdf12-concepts/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Specification Page</a>                                                                                                                                        |
| RDF 1.2 Schema (RDFS)                    | W3C Working Draft (2025; revision of the 2014 version with no technical changes) | <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/rdf12-schema/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Specification Page</a>                                                                                                                                          |
| DCMI Metadata Terms (Dublin Core Terms)  | DCMI Specification (2020)                                                        | <a href="https://www.dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/dcmi-terms/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Specification Page</a>                                                                                                            |
| OWL 2 Web Ontology Language              | W3C Recommendation (2012, 2nd Ed.)                                               | <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/owl2-overview/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Overview/Roadmap of OWL 2 Specifications</a>                                                                                                                   |
| SKOS Reference                           | W3C Recommendation (2009)                                                        | <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/skos-reference/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Specification Page</a>                                                                                                                                        |
| Time Ontology in OWL (OWL‑Time)          | W3C Candidate Recommendation Draft (2022)                                        | <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/owl-time/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Specification Page</a>                                                                                                                                              |
| GeoSPARQL 1.1                            | OGC Implementation Standard                                                      | <a href="https://www.ogc.org/standards/geosparql/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">OGC Standard Page</a> · <a href="https://docs.ogc.org/is/22-047r1/22-047r1.html" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Standard Document (OGC 22‑047r1)</a> |
| Basic Formal Ontology (BFO)              | OBO Foundry (upper ontology)                                                     | <a href="https://obofoundry.org/ontology/bfo.html" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Official Card/Documentation</a>                                                                                                                            |
| OBO Relations Ontology (RO)              | OBO Foundry (relations)                                                          | <a href="https://obofoundry.org/ontology/ro.html" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Official Card/Documentation</a>                                                                                                                             |
| PROV‑O: The PROV Ontology                | W3C Recommendation (2013)                                                        | <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/prov-o/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Specification Page</a>                                                                                                                                                |
| The Organization Ontology (ORG)          | W3C Recommendation (2014)                                                        | <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-org/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Specification Page</a>                                                                                                                                             |
| Schema.org (documentation)               | Official project documentation                                                   | <a href="https://schema.org/docs/schemas.html" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Schemas and Documentation</a>                                                                                                                                  |
| LexInfo (lexical-semantic ontology)      | Official website/ontology                                                        | <a href="https://lexinfo.net/" class="external text" rel="nofollow">Official Website</a> · <a href="https://lexinfo.net/ontology/3.0/lexinfo.owl" class="external text" rel="nofollow">OWL 3.0</a>                                                 |