Relations

Relations in ConceptNet 5

In ConceptNet 5, we define a set of relations that can apply to text in any language. The relations are given canonical, camel-cased English names in the /r/ namespace, such as /r/PartOf.

The set of possible relations is chosen to capture common, informative patterns from our various data sources. It may expand in future minor versions of ConceptNet 5.

This table lists the 34 relations that currently exist in ConceptNet 5:

Relation URI	Description	Examples
/r/RelatedTo	The most general relation. There is some positive relationship between A and B, but ConceptNet can't determine what that relationship is based on the data. This was called "ConceptuallyRelatedTo" in ConceptNet 2 through 4. Symmetric.	learn ↔ erudition
/r/FormOf	A is an inflected form of B; B is the root word of A.	slept → sleep
/r/IsA	A is a subtype or a specific instance of B; every A is a B. This can include specific instances; the distinction between subtypes and instances is often blurry in language. This is the hyponym relation in WordNet.	car → vehicle; Chicago → city
/r/PartOf	A is a part of B. This is the part meronym relation in WordNet.	gearshift → car
/r/HasA	B belongs to A, either as an inherent part or due to a social construct of possession. HasA is often the reverse of PartOf.	bird → wing; pen → ink
/r/UsedFor	A is used for B; the purpose of A is B.	bridge → cross water
/r/CapableOf	Something that A can typically do is B.	knife → cut
/r/AtLocation	A is a typical location for B, or A is the inherent location of B. Some instances of this would be considered meronyms in WordNet.	butter → refrigerator; Boston → Massachusetts
/r/Causes	A and B are events, and it is typical for A to cause B.	exercise → sweat
/r/HasSubevent	A and B are events, and B happens as a subevent of A.	eating → chewing
/r/HasFirstSubevent	A is an event that begins with subevent B.	sleep → close eyes
/r/HasLastSubevent	A is an event that concludes with subevent B.	cook → clean up kitchen
/r/HasPrerequisite	In order for A to happen, B needs to happen; B is a dependency of A.	dream → sleep
/r/HasProperty	A has B as a property; A can be described as B.	ice → cold
/r/MotivatedByGoal	Someone does A because they want result B; A is a step toward accomplishing the goal B.	compete → win
/r/ObstructedBy	A is a goal that can be prevented by B; B is an obstacle in the way of A.	sleep → noise
/r/Desires	A is a conscious entity that typically wants B. Many assertions of this type use the appropriate language's word for "person" as A.	person → love
/r/CreatedBy	B is a process or agent that creates A.	cake → bake
/r/Synonym	A and B have very similar meanings. They may be translations of each other in different languages. This is the synonym relation in WordNet as well. Symmetric.	sunlight ↔ sunshine
/r/Antonym	A and B are opposites in some relevant way, such as being opposite ends of a scale, or fundamentally similar things with a key difference between them. Counterintuitively, two concepts must be quite similar before people consider them antonyms. This is the antonym relation in WordNet as well. Symmetric.	black ↔ white; hot ↔ cold
/r/DistinctFrom	A and B are distinct member of a set; something that is A is not B. Symmetric.	red ↔ blue; August ↔ September
/r/DerivedFrom	A is a word or phrase that appears within B and contributes to B's meaning.	pocketbook → book
/r/SymbolOf	A symbolically represents B.	red → fervor
/r/DefinedAs	A and B overlap considerably in meaning, and B is a more explanatory version of A.	peace → absence of war
/r/MannerOf	A is a specific way to do B. Similar to "IsA", but for verbs.	auction → sale
/r/LocatedNear	A and B are typically found near each other. Symmetric.	chair ↔ table
/r/HasContext	A is a word used in the context of B, which could be a topic area, technical field, or regional dialect.	astern → ship; arvo → Australia
/r/SimilarTo	A is similar to B. Symmetric.	mixer ↔ food processor
/r/EtymologicallyRelatedTo	A and B have a common origin. Symmetric.	folkmusiikki ↔ folk music
/r/EtymologicallyDerivedFrom	A is derived from B.	dejta → date
/r/CausesDesire	A makes someone want B.	having no food → go to a store
/r/MadeOf	A is made of B.	bottle → plastic
/r/ReceivesAction	B can be done to A.	button → push
/r/ExternalURL	Instead of relating to ConceptNet nodes, this pseudo-relation points to a URL outside of ConceptNet, where further Linked Data about this term can be found. Similar to RDF's seeAlso relation.	knowledge → http://dbpedia.org/page/Knowledge

Deprecated relations

Some relations still occur in the database, but are there only because we haven't sorted their data into the more appropriate relations they should be under, or decided to finally remove it.

• /r/dbpedia/* relations represent abandoned attempts to expand the knowledge we get from DBPedia.
• /r/InstanceOf expresses "A is an example of B", but because natural language rarely distinguishes this from "A is a type of B", it should be merged with /r/IsA.
• /r/Entails says that "if A is happening, B is also happening". Instances of Entails should either become MannerOf or HasPrerequisite.
• Some sources collected negative assertions about relations that do not hold, such as (/r/NotIsA, /c/en/mammal, /c/en/plant). These are expressed as negative versions of those relations. The negative relations that we have data for are NotDesires, NotUsedFor, NotCapableOf, and NotHasProperty.