鯨類

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 鯨類 (reading げいるい) is a noun for the cetacean group, including whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
• Basic usage: It occurs in scientific contexts such as museum skeletons and research into sounds exchanged among these animals.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Broader than everyday “whale”
  • 鯨類 covers dolphins and porpoises as well as the large animals commonly called whales.
• Individual specimen and group
  • 鯨類の骨格 can refer to a specimen from the group, while 鯨類が交わす音 describes communication by animals belonging to this group.