Property talk:P674

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characters
characters which appear in this item (like plays, operas, operettas, books, comics, films, TV series, video games)

Represents	fictional character (Q95074)
Data type	Item
Domain	According to this template: work (Q386724) : plays, operas, operettas, novels (books) etc. According to statements in the property: work (Q386724), fictional creative work (Q15306849), scene (Q1185607), act (Q421744), group of works (Q17489659), level (Q1046315), tale type (Q47451145) or artistic theme (Q1406161) When possible, data should only be stored as statements
Allowed values	person (Q215627): human (Q5), fictional character (Q95074) (note: this should be moved to the property statements)
Example	Les Misérables (Q180736) → Cosette (Q2453276) The Lord of the Rings (Q15228) → Gandalf (Q177499)
Tracking: usage	Category:Pages using Wikidata property P674 (Q23909099)
See also	narrator (P2438), character role (P453), depicts (P180)
Lists	Items with the most statements of this property Count of items by number of statements (chart) Items with the most statements Items with the fewest statements Count of items by number of sitelinks (chart) Items with the most sitelinks Items with the most sitelinks, but no link to one Wikipedia (sample: Welsh Wikipedia, cywiki) Items with the fewest sitelinks Most linked wikis Items with the most identifier properties By value of property Most statements Fewest statements Most sitelinks Most linked wikis Total of sitelinks on items Most identifiers Fewest identifiers Items with no other statements Most recently created items Items with novalue claims Items with unknown value claims Usage history (total) Usage history (main statement) Chart by item creation date Database reports/Constraint violations/P674 Map Random list
Proposal discussion	Proposal discussion
Current uses	Total 152,455 Main statement 152,358 >99.9% of uses Qualifier 86 <0.1% of uses Reference 11 <0.1% of uses
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[create Create a translatable help page (preferably in English) for this property to be included here]

Allowed entity types are Wikibase item (Q29934200): the property may only be used on a certain entity type (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Entity types

Scope is as main value (Q54828448), as qualifier (Q54828449): the property must be used by specified way only (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Scope, SPARQL

Type “work (Q386724), fictional creative work (Q15306849), scene (Q1185607), act (Q421744), group of works (Q17489659), level (Q1046315), tale type (Q47451145), artistic theme (Q1406161)”: item must contain property “instance of (P31)” with classes “work (Q386724), fictional creative work (Q15306849), scene (Q1185607), act (Q421744), group of works (Q17489659), level (Q1046315), tale type (Q47451145), artistic theme (Q1406161)” or their subclasses (defined using subclass of (P279)). (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Type Q386724, Q15306849, Q1185607, Q421744, Q17489659, Q1046315, Q47451145, Q1406161, SPARQL

Value type “person (Q215627), fictional character (Q95074), group of fictional characters (Q14514600), domesticated animal (Q622852), group of mythical characters (Q20830276), fictional object (Q15706911), mythical character (Q4271324), character race (Q2607197), legendary figure (Q13002315), fictional species (Q21192438), human whose existence is disputed (Q21070568), group of humans (Q16334295), puppet (Q1913135), player character (Q1062345), folklore character (Q25810847)”: This property should use items as value that contain property “instance of (P31)”. On these, the value for instance of (P31) should be an item that uses subclass of (P279) with value person (Q215627), fictional character (Q95074), group of fictional characters (Q14514600), domesticated animal (Q622852), group of mythical characters (Q20830276), fictional object (Q15706911), mythical character (Q4271324), character race (Q2607197), legendary figure (Q13002315), fictional species (Q21192438), human whose existence is disputed (Q21070568), group of humans (Q16334295), puppet (Q1913135), player character (Q1062345), folklore character (Q25810847) (or a subclass thereof). (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Value type Q215627, Q95074, Q14514600, Q622852, Q20830276, Q15706911, Q4271324, Q2607197, Q13002315, Q21192438, Q21070568, Q16334295, Q1913135, Q1062345, Q25810847, SPARQL

Qualifiers “narrative role (P5800), object of statement has role (P3831), object named as (P1932), subject named as (P1810), chapter (P792), reason for deprecated rank (P2241), reason for preferred rank (P7452), voice type (P412), series ordinal (P1545), subject has role (P2868), narrative age (P6249), significant event (P793), applies to part, aspect, or form (P518), nature of statement (P5102), possessed by spirit (P4292), appears in the form of (P4675), applies to work (P10663), performer (P175), represents (P1268), member of (P463), statement is regarded as spoiler for (P7528)”: this property should be used only with the listed qualifiers. (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#allowed qualifiers, SPARQL

Conflicts with “instance of (P31): human (Q5)”: this property must not be used with the listed properties and values. (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Conflicts with P31, search, SPARQL

Conflicts with “instance of (P31): version, edition or translation (Q3331189)”: this property must not be used with the listed properties and values. (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Conflicts with P31, search, SPARQL

Conflicts with “instance of (P31): fictional universe (Q559618)”: this property must not be used with the listed properties and values. (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Conflicts with P31, search, SPARQL

Conflicts with “genre (P136): documentary film (Q93204)”: this property must not be used with the listed properties and values. (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Conflicts with P136, search, SPARQL

Conflicts with “instance of (P31): media franchise (Q196600)”: this property must not be used with the listed properties and values. (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Conflicts with P31, search, SPARQL

Conflicts with “instance of (P31): fictional universe (Q559618)”: this property must not be used with the listed properties and values. (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Conflicts with P31, search, SPARQL

Conflicts with “genre (P136): reality television (Q182415), reality show (Q3421644), reality television series (Q21232614)”: this property must not be used with the listed properties and values. (Help)

Exceptions are possible as rare values may exist. Exceptions can be specified using exception to constraint (P2303).
List of violations of this constraint: Database reports/Constraint violations/P674#Conflicts with P136, SPARQL

This property is being used by: ca:Plantilla:Infotaula arts escèniques, ca:Plantilla:Infotaula de llibre, ca:Plantilla:Infotaula videojoc, ca:Plantilla:Infotaula de publicacions periòdiques, ca:Plantilla:Infotaula publicació periòdica hy:Կաղապար:Տեղեկաքարտ Գիրք, hy:Կաղապար:Տեղեկաքարտ Գրական ստեղծագործություն, hy:Կաղապար:Տեղեկաքարտ Հեռուստաշոու, hy:Կաղապար:Տեղեկաքարտ Օպերա, hy:Կաղապար:Տեղեկաքարտ Մուլտսերիալ, hy:Կաղապար:Տեղեկաքարտ Մուլտֆիլմ, hy:Կաղապար:Տեղեկաքարտ Երաժշտական ստեղծագործություն ro:Format:Infocaseta Piesă de teatru ru:Шаблон:КМТ, ru:Шаблон:Музыкальная драма el:Πρότυπο:Πληροφορίες βιβλίου, el:Πρότυπο:Πληροφορίες θεατρικού έργου hu:Sablon:Színdarab infobox eu:Txantiloi:Lan infotaula automatikoa, eu:Txantiloi:Lan infotaula ga:Teimpléad:WD Bosca Sonraí Leabhar, ga:Teimpléad:WD Bosca Sonraí Nuachtán, ga:Teimpléad:WD Bosca Sonraí Ealaíona Taibhiúcháin kab:Talɣa:Infobox music, kab:Talɣa:Infobox intellectual work ha:Template:Infobox intellectual work, ha:Samfuri:Infobox intellectual work diq:Şablon:Kıtab, diq:Şablon:Medya ast:Plantía:Serie, ast:Plantía:Personaxes, ast:Plantía:Serie de televisión es:Plantilla:Ficha de historieta incubator:Template:Wp/shi/Infobox intellectual work vec:Modeło:Infobox de Libro ig:Àtụ:Infobox intellectual work, ig:Templeeti:Infobox intellectual work shi:Talɣa:Infobox intellectual work eo:Ŝablono:Informkesto libro cs:Šablona:Infobox - muzikál Please notify projects that use this property before big changes (renaming, deletion, merge with another property, etc.)

Work consisting of several parts whit their own items

For a composed work, I'd suggest to use this property on the lowest possible level, otherwise we're going to be flooded with characters by some series items. By Bible (Q1845) we have 7 characters at this moment, but it can be hunderds in the future. And all of them repeated by Old Testament (Q19786) and/or New Testament (Q18813), Tanakh (Q83367), Torah (Q34990), Nevi'im (Q216383), Ketuvim (Q208190) and so on, and finally by single books of the Bible, maybe even by their parts...--Shlomo (talk) 20:51, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

Notability

The character list by Bible (Q1845) is slowly getting out of control (see also the talk page there). Beside the proposal mentioned above we should think about some notability policy in order to prevent overpopulating the book/movie/series items with people/animals/ghosts who may be notable enough to have their own item, but their appearance in the work is not important enough. To be more specific, G. G. Byron is without doubt a notable person, but the fact, that Jean-Luc Picard recomends in some episode his book to the XO doesn't make him (Byron) a character of Star Trek series... --Shlomo (talk) 15:19, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

I think lord Byron actually is a character in an episode of Star trek Voyager (as a holodeck-character). I guess he (or a virtural version of his item) then can be added as a character in an item about that specific episode. But adding him as a character to Star trek in general or one of the ST-series does not make sense. -- Lavallen (talk) 15:40, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

Well, it seems, that my example wasn't crazy enough... In this case, I'd agree with the result, that he's not a character of all the series and he may be a character of a single episode - if anything (see section above...) But the notability question is still open: How much has the person to be connected with the content of the work to be described as a character? We have Junia (Q262766) as a character of the Bible. Even if we specify the particular book of the Bible, the person is mentioned only in one single verse ("Give my greetings to ...") She (he?) doesn't act, doesn't make any statement, nothing. Is this what is called being a character of a work? I don't think so, but then... where's the border?

I suppose we should make cleare at least this:

1. Can we accept animals, ghost & daemons, robots, plants, mountains or other non-living objects as characters of a work?
2. Can we accept items describing pairs or groups of people? With some limitations?
3. The character should have a direct connection with the content of the work; a mere remark stating his/her existence or being just part of the historical background of the story is not enough.
4. If the acting subject is a projection, vision or imitation of a non-fictional person, we sould take in account, whether the connection with the content of the work applies to the person or to it's substitute...--Shlomo (talk) 00:16, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

1. Yes, if it's in a relevant context. To not mention Data in Star trek would be strange, just because he is a robot. And to not mention the singing mountain of Jorm in Dunderklumpen! (Q1757147) would also be strange, only because he is a mountain.

2. To mention both "Adam and Eve" and "Adam" and "Eve" does not make sense. But if "Adam and Eve" is the only item that exists, then I guess it would be enough.

3. Adding Julia in one of the letters of Paul when the only mention of her is: "Send my greetings to Julia", then I agree it's not worth much. But I guess it depends on how long the list is. The First book of Chronicles contains endless long lists of persons, while the letter of James does not mention anybody but James himself, and that only once.

4. Yes, adding "lord Byron" himself is maybe wrong in an item about a Star trek-episode. Probably better to add "ST-holodeck-lord Byron" and create some kind of relation between the live person and the holodeck-alias.

The problem with many statements in an item is not solved by this. I guess we need better solutions, otherwise will it not be possible to add historical records of population, weather etc in an item about a city. -- Lavallen (talk) 12:16, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

I have to agree, I experienced the problem with other properties already. But at least it can help to prevent the lists from becoming unnecessary long, and maybe also to provide more accurate information. Thanks for your opinion.

A related question: What about generic minor roles in a play? The play Q3320792 (Agamemnon) features four primary speaking parts, but also a Watchman, a Herald (Messenger), and the Chorus. Should these generic characters be listed as well? --EncycloPetey (talk) 22:18, 28 February 2016 (UTC)

I think just because a character is mentioned in a work, it is not automatically a character of the work. theres is a property proposed for that --Loominade (talk) 16:08, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

Inverse constraint

• Comment by shlomo: "the properties don't match each other; one is for fictional entities (including non-persons), the other for persons (including non-fictional)"

Let's have a look at the report and check which characters couldn't be listed with P1441. Are there any you see? --- Jura 16:17, 9 November 2014 (UTC)

Just after a few blind clicks: Q13732913: Q377. I'm sure there are many others, but I'm not going to check all the nearly 3000 reports manually. Besides, it is of no use; the fact that the constraint doesn't comply with the definitions of the properties doesn't depend on the number of false positives in the violation report.--Shlomo (talk) 17:12, 9 November 2014 (UTC)

I hadn't thought of using this property with non fictional characters.

Still, the result isn't that bad: the 2922 include 1112 distinct items.

Excluding items with P31:Q5, there are still 891 items left that probably should be fixed. --- Jura 23:51, 9 November 2014 (UTC)

I supposed you hadn't. That's why I pointed it out when I removed the constraint first time ;) Also, there are other cases of non-fictional person (Q215627) than only human (Q5) (although this will be surely the most common one) - e.g. juridical person (Q155076), should be probably also biblical character (Q14943515) (Solomon (Q37085) or Augustus (Q1405) surely are not fictional characters...) --Shlomo (talk) 06:28, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Not sure why we wouldn't want to run the report though. The 891 are worth fixing .. --- Jura 06:48, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

If I understand the meaning of the numbers 891 and 1112 correctly, it will be even more than 891; the things to fix are the statements, not the items... In spite of that, I would discourage from introducing a constraint which is known to be wrong and produces about 20 % of false positives (which can change rapidly as soon as somebody starts adding P674 statements with a bot...). Especially when there is a call for resolving the invert/symmetric constraints with a bot.--Shlomo (talk) 08:16, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

891 is the number of characters where the property "present in work" with one or several works would need to be added.

The result of any constraint needs review and exceptions can obviously be possible. Obviously this constraint can't be marked "mandatory", but it gives a valid list of items to work on. As any report, it should have some practical use for contributor and not just be the topic of a theoretical discussions.

BTW, if we extend the present in work (P1441), we can add this to all items on the result. --- Jura 05:38, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

I suppose we can. Actually, that's where I started from... There hasn't been any reaction on the P1441 discussion page though until you joined it. I think it would be wise to ask the property proponent once more (so that we don't break more things than we fix) and if there really are no objections, we can reformulate the P1441, change it's constraints appropriately and introduce your constraint here. --Shlomo (talk) 11:42, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

Fiktion/non-fiktion/faction

Reading the documentation and the discussion I am still somewhat confused about using this property to describe human (Q5). The "Allowed values" says it's ok, while "Represents" says only fictional character (Q95074). As an example I have used characters (P674) for Den Hemmelige Socialdemokrat (Q16323394) which is faction (Q10493645) describing real persons, but perhaps in a fictional way. Is this ok? What about pure non-fictional work, e.g., biographies? — Finn Årup Nielsen (fnielsen) (talk) 11:23, 27 December 2015 (UTC)

@Fnielsen: +1. Characters don't have to be fictional if they appear in a work. (Otherwise we would need a second property for non-fictional characters. And of cause a second item for real persons that take part in a work of fiction. And a committee which decides how close the fictional person is related to the real person etc.) --Kolja21 (talk) 22:44, 14 March 2016 (UTC)

@Kolja21: and others: Does this mean that we can use the property for biographies? Such as Q12308313 which lists the 101 most important persons in the 20th century. — Finn Årup Nielsen (fnielsen) (talk) 04:36, 31 August 2016 (UTC)

Not really. For biographies I would use main subject (P921). --Kolja21 (talk) 20:01, 31 August 2016 (UTC)

main subject (P921) is the main theme. While you can use it for the main person in a biography, I say, it is not suitable for other people appearing in the biography. Lets take the autobiography of Charles Chaplin. We could put him on main subject (P921) and use characters (P674) for Charles Chaplin, Oona Chaplin, Sidney Chaplin, etc. — Finn Årup Nielsen (fnielsen) (talk) 05:57, 2 September 2016 (UTC)

@Fnielsen: I think that we can use "depicts" (P180) for persons appearing in a biography or nonfiction. "Characters" (P674), I guess, should only be used for persons (real or fictional) appearing in fiction. --Neo-Jay (talk) 23:03, 15 February 2021 (UTC)

Inverse

See Property_talk:P1441#Inverse_of_P674.3F. --Yair rand (talk) 06:37, 11 January 2017 (UTC)

Real person used as a prototype for the work

What property should be used in order to bind the work and the prototype used. For example, in this painting The Virgin and Child (Vrubel) the real woman Emily Prakhova (Q4376498) was used by Vrubel in order to draw the face of Virgin. What property I can use for Emily Prakhova in this painting? Can I say that "Emily Prakhova" is a character in this painting? Another possible variant is:
This picture inspired by (P941) "Emily Prakhova"? -- Andrew Krizhanovsky (talk) 03:09, 24 September 2017 (UTC)

Property:P2634 seems to cover this particular case. Arlo Barnes (talk) 09:03, 28 January 2019 (UTC)

piccola domanda

ma questo titolo vale anche per i videogiochi??? --Esc0fans (talk) 15:03, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

version, edition, or translation

Is there any other properties that should not be used on editions of literary works while we are at it? @Valentina.Anitnelav: --Trade (talk) 00:01, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

@Trade: In my opinion all information about the content (subject, etc.) or narrative (characters, setting, etc.) should only be used on the work item as this should be valid for all editions. - Valentina.Anitnelav (talk) 08:51, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

I agree. . . mostly. There are editions where characters are added or removed, or where parts or roles are changed. --EncycloPetey (talk) 18:29, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

Allow P642

On Ichneutae (Q733158) and other Greek dramas, we need to be able to use of (P642) in conjunction with this property, because the characters (P674) include a Greek chorus (Q770974) of (P642) satyr (Q163709). Other Greek dramas have a chorus of citizens, or elders, or women, or Furies, etc., but the use of this property with of (P642) currently generates an alert. --EncycloPetey (talk) 18:35, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

Characters that are only mentioned…

…without having any agency or dialog within the story. I usually don't include those but when I do, how should I treat them? should they have a specific qualifier or rank? What do you think?

Valentina.Anitnelav Thierry Caro Shisma Arlo Barnes Tsaorin SilentSpike Maxime জয়শ্রীরাম সরকার Wolverène Rampant Spirit Rtnf dseomn lijil

Notified participants of WikiProject Narration – Shisma (talk) 08:13, 1 August 2023 (UTC)

I'd use narrative role (P5800)mentioned character (Q107029488) as a qualifier. Not sure if these statements should be deprecated (maybe with a qualifier "only mentioned"?). - Valentina.Anitnelav (talk) 12:18, 1 August 2023 (UTC)