Verbal analogy for AFCAT: name the relationship, then test the options

An analogy question gives you a pair of words, numbers or letter groups with a hidden relationship, and asks you to find another pair with the same relationship. Written out, "Pilot : Aircraft :: Captain : Ship" reads as "a pilot is to an aircraft as a captain is to a ship".

These are some of the quickest marks in AFCAT's reasoning section, often 20 to 30 seconds each, but only if you name the relationship precisely. Most wrong answers come from a vague relationship that fits two options at once.

The method: the bridge sentence

1. Make a sentence that links the first pair. Use both words and be specific. "A barometer measures air pressure" is better than "a barometer is related to pressure".
2. Put the second pair into the same sentence. "An anemometer measures ___."
3. Test every option. If one fits, you are done.
4. If two options fit, tighten the sentence. Add detail about function, degree, direction or category until only one survives.
5. Check the order. The second pair must follow the same direction as the first.

Why it works: an analogy is a claim that two pairs share one relationship. A sentence makes that relationship explicit, so you test options against something definite rather than a feeling that the words "go together".

Common relationship types

AFCAT likes defence and aviation words: instruments, aircraft parts, ranks and military groups. Learn what common instruments measure, since they turn up in both analogy and classification questions.

Number analogies

The same idea applies to numbers: find the operation that turns the first number into the second, then apply it to the third. Check these in order:

• Squares and cubes: n², n³
• Squares or cubes plus or minus 1: n² + 1, n² − 1, n³ + 1
• Products: n(n + 1), n(n − 1)
• Multiples and simple operations: 2n + 1, 3n − 2

If two rules fit the first pair, both usually give the same answer. When they don't, look for a rule that fits every given pair in the question.

Letter analogies

Convert letters to positions (A = 1 to Z = 26) and look for:

• The same shift for every letter (+1, −2)
• A growing shift (+1, +2, +3)
• Opposite letters, whose positions add up to 27 (A and Z, B and Y)
• Reversed order

Worked examples

Example 1 (instrument). Barometer : Pressure :: Anemometer : ? Options: Rain, Wind speed, Humidity, Altitude.

• Bridge: "A barometer measures atmospheric pressure."
• "An anemometer measures ___" → Wind speed.

Example 2 (tightening the sentence). Surgeon : Scalpel :: ? Options: Carpenter : Wood, Carpenter : Saw, Carpenter : Furniture, Carpenter : Workshop.

• A loose bridge, "a surgeon is linked to a scalpel", fits all four.
• Tighten it: "A surgeon cuts with a scalpel", which is a worker and their cutting tool.
• Only Carpenter : Saw fits. Wood is material, furniture is product and workshop is place.

Example 3 (group). Constellation : Stars :: Archipelago : ?

• Bridge: "A constellation is a group of stars."
• "An archipelago is a group of ___" → Islands.

Example 4 (number). 7 : 50 :: 9 : ?

• 7² = 49, and 49 + 1 = 50. The rule is n² + 1.
• 9² + 1 = 82.

Example 5 (number, two rules agree). 6 : 35 :: 11 : ?

• 6² − 1 = 35. Equally, 5 × 7 = 35, which is (n − 1)(n + 1). These are the same rule.
• 11² − 1 = 120.

Example 6 (growing letter shift). CAT : DCW :: DOG : ?

• C → D is +1, A → C is +2, T → W is +3.
• D + 1 = E, O + 2 = Q, G + 3 = J → EQJ.

Traps to watch for

• Order reversed, as above.
• A related but different relationship. Doctor : Hospital (workplace) is not the same as Doctor : Patient (who is served).
• Degree mismatch. Warm : Hot pairs a mild word with a strong one. Cool : Freezing skips a step and is weaker than Cool : Cold.
• Category slips. Wing : Aircraft is part to whole, but Aircraft : Vehicle is member to category.

Practice set

1. Hygrometer : Humidity :: Seismograph : ?
2. 5 : 36 :: 6 : ?
3. Birds : Aviary :: Bees : ?
4. CAT : DBU :: DOG : ?
5. Author : Novel :: Composer : ? Options: Orchestra, Symphony, Piano, Singer.
6. 8 : 512 :: 12 : ?
7. Drizzle : Downpour :: Breeze : ? Options: Wind, Gale, Air, Cloud.
8. BDF : YWU :: CEG : ?

Answers:

1. Earthquakes (seismic waves). An instrument and what it records.
2. 49. The rule is (n + 1)²: 5 → 6² = 36, so 6 → 7² = 49.
3. Apiary. An aviary is a place where birds are kept; an apiary is where bees are kept.
4. EPH. Each letter moves forward one place.
5. Symphony. A person and the work they create. An orchestra performs it, and a piano is an instrument.
6. 1,728. 8³ = 512, and 12³ = 1,728.
7. Gale. A light form of something and its strong form. Drizzle is light rain and a downpour is heavy rain; a breeze is light wind and a gale is strong wind.
8. XVT. Each letter is replaced by its opposite: B and Y, D and W, F and U. So C → X, E → V, G → T.

What to do next

• Make a two-column list of 30 instruments and what they measure, and revise it weekly.
• For every analogy you practise, write the bridge sentence, even for easy ones, until it becomes habit.
• Move on to odd one out, which uses the same "find the shared property" skill, and to word analogy in the English section.