Blood Relations
Blood Relation problems test a candidate’s ability to decode and interpret relationships
between people based on the information provided. These types of questions are commonly
asked in placement tests, competitive exams, and reasoning ability sections.
Key Points –
Understand family relationship terms:
o Father’s son → Brother
o Mother’s daughter → Sister
o Father’s brother → Uncle
o Mother’s sister → Aunt
o Son’s wife → Daughter-in-law
o Brother’s son → Nephew
o Sister’s son → Nephew
o Sister’s daughter → Niece
o Husband’s father → Father-in-law
o Wife’s brother → Brother-in-law
Two common ways questions are asked:
1. Statement-based: Describing relations in words.
2. Puzzle/Diagram-based: Information given in a coded or mixed form to be
arranged.
Drawing family trees/diagrams is the best approach for solving such problems
quickly and accurately.
Types of Blood Relation Questions:
1. Direct Relationship:
Example:
Ram is the brother of Shyam. How is Shyam related to Ram?
2. Coded Relationship:
Example:
A + B means A is the brother of B; A × B means A is the mother of B.
What does A + B × C mean?
3. Puzzle Type / Mixed Statements:
Example:
Pointing to a girl, a man said, "She is the daughter of the only son of my
grandfather." How is the girl related to the man?
Solving Strategies:
Always draw a simple family diagram or tree while reading the question.
Identify gender clues (like 'his', 'her', 'daughter', 'son', etc.)
Read and interpret statements carefully.
Practice decoding coded relationships using symbol meanings.
Solve puzzle-type relations step-by-step.
Avoid assumptions unless clearly stated.
Example Practice Questions:
1. Statement Type:
A is the son of B. C is the father of A. How is B related to C?
2. Coded Type:
If A + B means A is the father of B; A - B means A is the sister of B; A × B means A is
the mother of B. What does P × Q + R mean?
3. Puzzle Type:
Pointing to a woman in a photograph, a man says, "She is the only daughter of my
father’s only son." How is the woman related to the man?
Common Blood Relation Terms Table:
Relation Male Term Female Term
Parent’s son Brother Sister
Father’s brother Uncle Aunt
Son’s wife Daughter-in-law Daughter-in-law
Brother’s son Nephew Niece
Husband’s sister Sister-in-law Sister-in-law
Blood Relation – Questions with Answers
1️ Question:
Pointing to a girl, Rohan said, "She is the daughter of the only son of my grandfather." How is the girl
related to Rohan?
Answer: Sister
2️ Question:
If A is the brother of B and B is the sister of C, how is C related to A?
Answer: Cannot be determined (as C's gender is not known)
3️ Question:
Pointing to a photograph, Rekha said, "He is the only son of my mother’s father." How is the man
related to Rekha?
Answer: Uncle (if he is her mother’s brother) or could be her own brother (if Rekha’s mother’s
father’s only son is her father)
But as it says "only son of my mother’s father," it’s most logically her uncle.
4️ Question:
If ‘A + B’ means A is the brother of B, ‘A - B’ means A is the sister of B, and ‘A × B’ means A is the
father of B, then what does P × Q + R mean?
Answer:
P is the father of Q, and Q is the brother of R.
5️ Question:
Pointing to a photograph of a boy, Sita said, "He is the son of the only son of my grandfather." How
is the boy related to Sita?
Answer: Brother
6️ Question:
If P is the daughter of Q, Q is the sister of R, and R is the father of S, how is S related to P?
Answer: Cousin
7️ Question:
Pointing to a man in a photo, a woman said, "His mother is the only daughter of my mother." How is
the man related to the woman?
Answer: Son
8️ Question:
If A is the son of B, B is the daughter of C, and C is the wife of D, how is D related to A?
Answer: Grandfather
9️ Question:
If 'P + Q' means 'P is the father of Q' and 'P - Q' means 'P is the sister of Q', then what does A - B + C
mean?
Answer:
A is the sister of B, and B is the father of C.
10 Question:
Rahul said, "The girl I met yesterday is the sister of the son of my father’s wife." How is the girl
related to Rahul?
Answer: Sister
