Analogies — RRB NTPC Reasoning
This topic carries roughly 10% of General Intelligence & Reasoning's 30 questions — the section's single heaviest topic. Every analogy question reduces to one move: name the relationship in the given pair precisely, then find the option pair sharing that exact relationship.
1. What RRB NTPC actually asks
Expect word analogies (relationship between two words, find a matching pair), number analogies (a numeric relationship, e.g., squaring, doubling), and letter analogies (a positional or alphabetical shift pattern).
2. Common relationship types
| Relationship type | Example |
|---|---|
| Synonym | Big : Large |
| Antonym | Hot : Cold |
| Part to whole | Page : Book |
| Worker to tool | Carpenter : Hammer |
| Category to member | Fruit : Mango |
| Cause to effect | Fire : Smoke |
| Numeric operation | 4 : 16 (square), 5 : 10 (double) |
| Alphabetical shift | B : D (shift +2) |
3. The one skill: naming the relationship precisely
A vague relationship ("both are related to food") allows too many wrong options to seem plausible. A precise relationship ("X is the tool used by Y to perform their job") narrows it to exactly one correct match. Always state the relationship in a full, specific sentence before scanning the options.
Worked examples
Q1. Doctor : Hospital :: Teacher : ?
Pick an option to check your answer.
Show explanation
Solution. The relationship is "person : the workplace where they primarily work." A doctor works at a hospital; a teacher's primary workplace is a school.
(a) Student is who a teacher teaches, not their workplace — this matches "worker : whom they serve," a different relationship. (b) and (d) are tools/objects a teacher uses, matching "worker : tool" instead. Answer: (c).
Q2. 6 : 36 :: 8 : ?
Pick an option to check your answer.
Show explanation
Solution. The relationship is squaring: 6² = 36. Applying the same relationship to 8: 8² = 64.
(a) is 6×8, a different (multiplication) relationship. (b) is 7×8, unrelated to the given pattern. Answer: (c).
5. Common traps
- Accepting a loosely related option instead of one matching the exact relationship. Always re-state the relationship as a specific sentence before checking options.
- Missing that a relationship could be reversed. "Key : Lock" (opens) is different from "Lock : Key" — direction matters, and an option with the correct words but reversed roles is a common trap.
- For numeric analogies, checking only one operation (e.g., only addition) when multiple operations could technically fit the first pair — always verify your identified operation against the SECOND number in the option pair too.
- For letter analogies, miscounting the alphabetical shift — write out the alphabet positions explicitly if the shift isn't immediately obvious.
6. Guessing strategy
If you can eliminate even one option because it clearly matches a different relationship type (synonym instead of antonym, tool instead of workplace), that's often enough to clear the guessing threshold under 1/3 negative marking.
Summary
- Analogies is roughly 10% of General Intelligence & Reasoning's 30 CBT 1 questions — the section's heaviest single topic.
- The core skill is stating the given pair's relationship as a precise, specific sentence before checking options.
- Common relationship types: synonym, antonym, part-to-whole, worker-to-tool, category-to-member, cause-to-effect, numeric operations, alphabetical shifts.
- Direction matters — "A relates to B" is not the same as "B relates to A."
- For numeric analogies, always verify the identified operation works cleanly on the option pair too, not just the given pair.
