Based on conceptual frameworks of soil behavior and published experimental data related to stress and strain thresholds, alternative cyclic strain regime divisions and the cyclic strain thresholds that represent the change in soil behavior are proposed. The criteria taken into account for the development of this approach includes stress-strain behavior, stiffness degradation, pore pressure generation, post-cyclic strength and microscale processes. Fundamentally for clayey soils, four types of cyclic strain thresholds are identified: linear, volumetric, degradation, and flow, with five strain regimes delimited by these thresholds.