<p>They can all be translated into English as <em>variety</em> or <em>type</em>. Their differences are:</p>

<ul>
<li><strong>種類</strong>

<ul>
<li>Has a slight emphasis on the <em>differences</em> between compared things, and it is slightly more often used to construct categories to sort different objects into.</li>
<li>Also occasionally used as a synonym for <strong>種族</strong> (<em>race</em> or <em>ethnicity</em>) in older texts (pre-Qing).</li>
<li>Example from Pleco: 不同<strong>種類</strong>的刀具 (<em>different kinds of knives</em>)</li>
</ul></li>
<li><strong>類型</strong>

<ul>
<li>Has a slight emphasis on the <em>similarities</em> between compared things, and it is slightly more often used to group things which share similar properties into the same category.</li>
<li>Sometimes used as a word to categorise <em>tropes</em>, <em>imagery</em>, or <em>genres</em> in the field of literature.</li>
<li>Is a term imported from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasei-kango" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wasei-kango</a>.</li>
<li>Example sentence: 魯迅 《偽自由書ㆍ前記》： “然而我的壞處， 是在論時事不留面子， 砭錮弊常取<strong>類型</strong>， 而後者尤與時宜不合。” (<em>Lu Xun: "My problem is that I don't spare any sensibilities when discussing current affairs, and often use <strong>literary tropes</strong> when criticising harmful traditions; the latter may be extremely inappropriate in contemporary society."</em>)</li>
</ul></li>
<li><strong>品種</strong> 

<ul>
<li>Very often used in the field of biology for the meaning <em>animal <strong>breed</em></strong>, <strong><em>species</em></strong>, <em>bacterial <strong>strain</em></strong>.</li>
<li>Otherwise used to describe the assortment variety of products e.g. in a shop.</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-13T10:57:32.890Z
2018-06-13T11:24:34.180Z
2018-06-13T11:24:34.180Z
dROOOze
<p>See title. What's the difference between these terms? Thanks in advance!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-13T13:17:30.133Z
You're better off giving your context, or it's hard to give an good answer for it.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-15T02:21:48.203Z
See https://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/30155/3613 about subtle differences in meaning in general.
Vitaly Osipov
<difference>
What is the difference between 种类，类型 and 品种?
# What is the difference between 种类，类型 and 品种?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-06-13)

See title. What's the difference between these terms? Thanks in advance!

**Tags:** difference

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You're better off giving your context, or it's hard to give an good answer for it.  
> **username_2**: See https://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/30155/3613 about subtle differences in meaning in general.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-06-13. Score: 2

They can all be translated into English as *variety* or *type*. Their differences are:

* **種類**
  + Has a slight emphasis on the *differences* between compared things, and it is slightly more often used to construct categories to sort different objects into.
  + Also occasionally used as a synonym for **種族** (*race* or *ethnicity*) in older texts (pre-Qing).
  + Example from Pleco: 不同**種類**的刀具 (*different kinds of knives*)
* **類型**
  + Has a slight emphasis on the *similarities* between compared things, and it is slightly more often used to group things which share similar properties into the same category.
  + Sometimes used as a word to categorise *tropes*, *imagery*, or *genres* in the field of literature.
  + Is a term imported from [Wasei-kango](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasei-kango).
  + Example sentence: 魯迅 《偽自由書ㆍ前記》： “然而我的壞處， 是在論時事不留面子， 砭錮弊常取**類型**， 而後者尤與時宜不合。” (*Lu Xun: "My problem is that I don't spare any sensibilities when discussing current affairs, and often use **literary tropes** when criticising harmful traditions; the latter may be extremely inappropriate in contemporary society."*)
* **品種**
  + Very often used in the field of biology for the meaning *animal **breed***, ***species***, *bacterial **strain***.
  + Otherwise used to describe the assortment variety of products e.g. in a shop.


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