Choosing the correct type of hinges for your cabinets can be a daunting project. It is not just about the color or finish, do you need overlay or inset, concealed, semi-concealed or exposed, traditional or euro-hinge?  It can get pretty confusing pretty quickly. Let's try to break it down and make it a bit easier to navigate.

First.... determine what type of cabinets you have.

There are 2 styles of cabinets and each takes a different type of hinge. 

As the name would indicate FACE FRAME cabinets have a frame of wood, usually 1 1/2" - 2" wide attached to the front edges (face) of the cabinet shell. The hinges will mount to this face frame.

Alternately, there are also FRAMELESS  cabinets. They resemble an open front box. The hinges will mount to the inside of the cabinet walls. These are sometimes referred to as EURO-STYLE cabinets.

Next.... figure out what kind of door overlay you have. This is where the door sits on your cabinet opening. The type of door overlay will determine the type of hinge you will need.

OVERLAY or HALF OVERLAY doors will sit completely on the outside of the cabinet frame when closed. Full overlay doors will cover the cabinet opening entirely, whereas, the half overlay doors will reveal part of the cabinet frame.

INSET doors are the opposite, they sit entirely within the cabinet frame. These doors will be flush with the cabinet face frame when closed.

PARTIAL INSET doors overlap the cabinet opening part way on all sides. The easiest way to tell if you have this type of door is by looking at the back of the door itself. If there is a "lip" along the door along the edge, this will be a partial inset door.

Now... to choose the hinges.  There are Concealed hinges (not visible when the door is closed), Semi-concealed hinges (partially visible when the door is closed) and Exposed hinges (decorative hinges that attach completely to the outside of the cabinet).

Concealed hinges are often referred to as Euro-style or European hinges. They are available in surface mount or mortised (a recess cut into the door or cabinet that the hinge fits into). This type of hinge is most widely used on FRAMELESS cabinets, but they can be found for FACE FRAME cabinets as well. The type of Euro-hinge you need depends on the overlay (distance that the cabinet door extends past the door opening) of your door.

H01068C-UC is an example of a surface mount hinge for Frameless cabinets. 

HC11SFC-NP is an example of a full overlay hinge for Frameless cabinets.

H70223C-NP is an example of a partial overlay mortised hinge for Frameless cabinets.

Semi-concealed hinges are available in a wide variety of colors and finishes designed to match your knobs & pulls. They are available for both overlay and inset doors on FACE FRAME cabinets. Some of the hinges have springs to help the door close and others are springless. Semi-wrap hinges are a type of semi-concealed hinge that can be used on FRAMELESS cabinets.

H0103BL-SN is an example of an overlay hinge with spring.

H01010C-AB is an example of an overlay hinge without spring.

H01915C-SN is an example of a semi-wrap overlay hinge. These hinges come in a variety of sizes based on how far your door overlaps the edges of your cabinets.

H0104BL-SN is an example of an inset hinge with spring.

H00930C-PB is an example of an inset hinge without spring. 

Exposed hinges are decorative hinges that are fully visible on the outside of the cabinet when the door is closed. This type of hinge comes in overlay and offset.

H09000-FB is an example of an exposed overlay hinge.

H09060V-AB is an example of an exposed 3/8" offset hinge.