Meanings
- category theoryGiven a category ๐ with an object A, let H be a hom functor represented by A, and let F be any functor (not necessarily representable) from ๐ to Sets, then there is a natural isomorphism between Nat(H,F), the set of natural transformations from H to F, and the set F(A). (Any natural transformation ฮฑ from H to F is determined by what ฮฑ_A( mbox id_A) is.)
โข Yoneda Lemma: Nat(Hom(A,โ), F) โ F(A) โด Nat(Hom(A,โ), Hom(B,โ)) โ Hom(B,A) โด A โ B iff Hom(A,โ) โ Hom(B,โ) i.e. A is isomorphic to B if and only if A's network of relations is isomorphic to B's network of relations.
2 more examples
As a corollary of the Yoneda lemma, given a pair of contravariant hom functors #92;mbox#123;Hom#125;(-,A) and #92;mbox#123;Hom#125;(-,B), then any natural transformation #92;alpha from #92;mbox#123;Hom#125;(-,A) to #92;mbox#123;Hom#125;(-,B) is determined by the choice of some function f#58;A#92;rightarrowB to map the identity #92;mbox#123;id#125;#95;A#58;A#92;rightarrowA to, by the component #92;alpha#95;A#58;#92;mbox#123;Hom#125;(A,A)#92;rightarrow#92;mbox#123;Hom#125;(A,B) of #92;alpha. This implies that the Yoneda functor is fully faithful, which in turn implies that Yoneda embeddings are possible.
And then there's the Yoneda Lemma embodied in the classical Gaussian row reduction operation, that a given row reduction operation (on matrices with say k rows) being a "natural" operation (in the sense of natural transformations) is just multiplication (on the appropriate side) by the effect of that operation on the k-by-k identity matrix. And dually for column-reduction operations :-)
2020, Emily Riehl, quoting Fred E. J. Linton, The Yoneda lemma in the category of Matrices
Origin
Lemma named after the Japanese mathematician Nobuo Yoneda (1930โ1996).
Full word history & related roots โTranslations
Chinese Mandarin ็ฑณ็ฐๅผ็
- ็ฑณ็ฐๅผ็ (Mวtiรกn yวnlว)theorem which states that there is a natural isomorphism...
French lemme de Yoneda
- lemme de Yonedatheorem which states that there is a natural isomorphism...
German Lemma von Yoneda
- Lemma von Yonedatheorem which states that there is a natural isomorphism...
Italian lemma di Yoneda
- lemma di Yonedatheorem which states that there is a natural isomorphism...
Japanese ็ฑณ็ฐใฎ่ฃ้ก
- ็ฑณ็ฐใฎ่ฃ้กtheorem which states that there is a natural isomorphism...
Korean ์๋ค๋ค ๋ณด์กฐ์ ๋ฆฌ
- ์๋ค๋ค ๋ณด์กฐ์ ๋ฆฌtheorem which states that there is a natural isomorphism...
Portuguese lema de Yoneda
- lema de Yonedatheorem which states that there is a natural isomorphism...
Spanish lema de Yoneda
- lema de Yonedatheorem which states that there is a natural isomorphism...
Cite this entry
Yoneda lemma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yoneda%20lemma
โYoneda lemma.โ WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yoneda%20lemma. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. โYoneda lemma,โ accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yoneda%20lemma.
Source: Yoneda lemma on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.