Analogies for RRB NTPC: word, number and letter pairs with a method

An analogy question shows a pair with a relationship, A : B, and asks you to complete another pair, C : ?, with the same relationship. In RRB NTPC it appears in three forms: word pairs, number pairs and letter groups. There is also a "select the related pair" version, where you pick the option pair that matches a given pair.

These are quick questions, usually solvable in 20–30 seconds. The difficulty is not finding a relationship. It is finding the one that makes exactly one option correct.

A three-step method

1. Name the relationship in the first pair, in one short sentence. "A doctor works in a hospital." "27 is the cube of 3."
2. Apply the same sentence to the second pair. "A teacher works in a ___."
3. Check the options. Exactly one should fit. If two fit, your sentence is too loose; make it more specific. If none fit, try a different rule.

Step 1 is where most errors start. "Doctor and hospital are related" is not a relationship. "A doctor works in a hospital" is.

Common word relationships

Direction matters. "Book : Page" is whole to part; "Page : Book" is part to whole. Keep the order the same in both pairs.

Number relationships

A single number pair can often be explained by more than one rule. For example, 3 : 27 fits "cube" and also "× 9". That is why you must check your rule against the options, not just against the pair.

Letter relationships

• Shift: every letter moves forward or back by a fixed number (CAT → DBU is + 1).
• Opposite letters: each letter is replaced by the one whose position adds up to 27 with it (A ↔ Z, G ↔ T).
• Reversal: the group is written backwards.
• Mixed: the first letter moves one way and the last letter the other way.

Write the positions under the letters before you decide. Guessing from shapes is how shift errors happen.

Worked questions

Q1. Doctor : Hospital :: Teacher : ?
(a) Student (b) School (c) Chalk (d) Lesson

The sentence is "a doctor works in a hospital". A teacher works in a school, option (b). "Student" is related to a teacher, but it is not a place of work.

Q2. 5 : 125 :: 7 : ?
(a) 49 (b) 243 (c) 343 (d) 350

125 = 5³, so the rule is "cube". 7³ = 343, option (c). Check the rivals: "× 25" would give 175, and "square" would give 49, but 5 : 125 is not a square pair. Only the cube rule fits both the pair and an option.

Q3. 6 : 35 :: 8 : ?
(a) 48 (b) 63 (c) 64 (d) 65

35 = 6² − 1. So 8² − 1 = 63, option (b). The trap is 64, which is 8² without the − 1.

Q4. FACE : HCEG :: BIRD : ?
(a) CJSE (b) DKSF (c) DKTF (d) ZGPB

Positions: F 6 → H 8, A 1 → C 3, C 3 → E 5, E 5 → G 7. Every letter moves + 2.
BIRD: B → D, I → K, R → T, D → F. Answer DKTF, option (c). Option (b) has S instead of T, a typical one-letter trap.

Q5. GT : HS :: KP : ?
(a) LO (b) LQ (c) JP (d) MO

G → H is + 1; T → S is − 1. Apply it: K → L, P → O. Answer LO, option (a). Cross-check: G + T = 7 + 20 = 27, and L + O = 12 + 15 = 27, so both pairs are opposite letters. No other option is an opposite pair.

Q6. Select the pair that has the same relationship as Pen : Write.
(a) Knife : Cut (b) Book : Shelf (c) Chair : Wood (d) Needle : Thread

A pen is a tool used to write. A knife is a tool used to cut, option (a). A needle is used with thread, but its use is "sew", not "thread". A chair is made of wood, which is a different relationship.

When two rules seem to fit

1. Write both rules down.
2. Apply each to the second pair.
3. Keep the rule whose answer appears in the options.
4. If both answers appear, choose the more specific relationship. "A calf is the young one of a cow" is more specific than "a calf is an animal".

Common mistakes

• Choosing a related word, not the same relationship. "Teacher : Student" is related, but it is not worker and workplace.
• Reversing the order. If the first pair is whole : part, the second must be whole : part too.
• Checking only one letter in a letter analogy. Every letter must follow the rule.
• Forgetting the − 1 or + 1 in n² ± 1 rules. Options are built around that slip.
• Counting letters on fingers. Use EJOTY: E 5, J 10, O 15, T 20, Y 25.

Practice set

1. Eye : See :: Ear : ? (a) Sound (b) Hear (c) Head (d) Music
2. Bird : Nest :: Bee : ? (a) Honey (b) Hive (c) Flower (d) Den
3. 9 : 80 :: 11 : ? (a) 110 (b) 120 (c) 121 (d) 122
4. 4 : 64 :: 6 : ? (a) 36 (b) 180 (c) 196 (d) 216
5. FISH : GJTI :: BOAT : ? (a) CPBU (b) CNBU (c) DPBU (d) CPCU
6. ACE : BDF :: GIK : ? (a) HIJ (b) HJL (c) GHI (d) IKM
7. Select the pair like Carpenter : Saw. (a) Tailor : Needle (b) Doctor : Patient (c) Farmer : Crop (d) Teacher : School
8. BY : CX :: FU : ? (a) GT (b) GV (c) ET (d) HT

Answers:

1. (b) Hear. The eye is the organ for seeing; the ear is the organ for hearing.
2. (b) Hive. A bird lives in a nest; a bee lives in a hive. A den is a home, but not a bee's.
3. (b) 120. 9² − 1 = 80, so 11² − 1 = 120.
4. (d) 216. 4³ = 64, so 6³ = 216. 36 is only the square.
5. (a) CPBU. Each letter + 1: B → C, O → P, A → B, T → U.
6. (b) HJL. Each letter + 1. IKM continues the + 2 gaps inside GIK, but that is not what ACE → BDF does.
7. (a) Tailor : Needle. Worker and the tool they use. A farmer grows a crop, which is worker and product.
8. (a) GT. First letter + 1, second letter − 1. Check: G + T = 27, an opposite pair, like B + Y.

What to do next

• Write the one-sentence relationship for your next 20 word analogies before you look at the options.
• Learn squares to 20 and cubes to 10; number analogies lean on them.
• Move on to odd one out, which uses the same "find the shared property" skill.
• Practise letter shifts with the letter series guide.