This page gives a quick listing of Japanese and English terms to help navigate the taxonomy of life.
Levels - Top to Bottom
Principal levels (traditional ones through which the tree may be navigated) are listed in boldface
| English | Japanese | Romanization | Comments |
| 1. domain | ドメイン | domein | Also known as empire and superkingdom, and 超生物界 /chou-seibutsu kai/ |
| subdomain | ? | unconfirmed citation | |
| 2. kingdom | 界 | kai | |
| subkingdom | 亜界 | akai | |
| superphylum | 上門 | joumon | |
| 3. phylum (pl. phyla) | 門 | mon | In botany, phyla are called divisions |
| subphylum | 亜門 | amon | |
| superclass | 上綱 | joukou | |
| 4. class | 綱 | kou | 類 is often used in place of 綱 in vernacular Japanese (i.e., 哺乳類). |
| subclass | 亜綱 | akou | |
| infraclass | ? | ? | unconfirmed citation |
| cohort | 同齢集団 | dourei shuudan | |
| subcohort | 亜同齢集団? | adourei shuudan | |
| superorder | 上目 | joumoku | |
| 5. order | 目 | moku | |
| suborder | 亜目 | amoku | |
| infraorder | ? | unconfirmed citation | |
| parvorder?? | ? | unconfirmed citation | |
| superfamily | 上科 | jouka | |
| 6. family | 科 | ka | |
| subfamily | 亜科 | aka | |
| tribe | 族 | zoku | Note: same pronunciation as genus 属 |
| subtribe | 亜族 | azoku | Note: same pronunciation as subgenus 亜属 |
| 7. genus (pl. genera) | 属 | zoku | Note: same pronunciation as tribe 族 |
| subgenus | 亜属 | azoku | Note: same pronunciation as subtribe 亜族 |
| 8. species (pl. species) | 種 | shu | |
| subspecies | 亜種 | ashu | |
| variety, varietas | 変種 | henshu | abbreviated var. |
| forma | 品種 | hinshu | abbreviated f. |
Other Terms
| English | Japanese | Romanization | Comments |
| clade | 分岐群 | bunki gun | |
| level | 分類階級 | bunrui kaikyuu | |
| phylogenetic classification | 系統発生的分類 | keitou hassei-teki bunrui | |
| phylogeny | 系統発生 | keitou hassei | |
| sub- | 亜 | a | subkingdom = 亜界, suborder = 亜目, etc. |
| super- | 上 | jou | superorder = 上目, etc. |
| taxon (pl. taxa) | 分類単位 | bunrui tan'i | |
| taxonomy of life | 生物分類 | seibutsu bunrui |
This entry was created by Benjamin Barrett.
Created 2000-08-10.