Analogy questions test the ability to understand relationships between objects such as numbers, letters, or words. There are three types of analogies: number, letter, and word. Number analogies examine relationships between numbers like being consecutive, squares/cubes, or obtained by adding/subtracting a number. Letter analogies follow patterns between letters, such as reverse order or skipping letters. Word analogies match relationships between two words on one side to a single word on the other, for example a sailor works on a ship so a lawyer works in a court. Understanding these relationship patterns is key to solving analogy problems.

1. ANALOGY
Analogy means “correspondence” or “similarity” or “similar relationship”. In questions on
number analogies or letter analogies and word analogies, a pair, that has a certain relationship
between them. This number/letter/word pair is followed by a third number/letter/word. The
student find out a fourth number such that the relationship between the third and the fourth is
similar to the relationship that exists between the first and second.
The analogies are divided into three types:
1. Number Analogies
2. Letter Analogies
3. Word Analogies
Number Analogies
The relationships between the numbers in a given pair can be any of the following:
 One number is the square or square root of the other.
 One number is the cube or cube root of the other.
 One number is the multiple of other
 The two numbers can be consecutive, even, odd or prime.
 The two numbers are such that they are obtained by adding a certain number to the
squares or cubes of the two related numbers
 The two numbers are such that they are obtained by subtracting a certain number from
the squres or cubes of the two related numbers.
 The two numbers are squares of two other numbers which themselves are related.
Examples:
1. 27:51::83:…………
a)102 b)117 c)138 d)123
Ans: (d)
Sol: The given analogy can be written as 52
+2:72
+2::92
+2:………..
5 and 7 are successive odd numbers.
Similarly, next odd number to 9 is 11. So, 112
+2=121+2=123

2. 2. 11:25::17:………
a)33 b)28 c)41 d)37
Ans: (d)
Sol: 11x2+3=25
Similarly,17x2+3=34+3=37
Letter Analogies
The questions in this area are similar to the verbal analogies. These questions are based on the
relationship between two groups of letters. Typically, three sets of letters are given followed by a
question mark. here, the first two sets of letters on the left hand side of the symbol::and then find
then find a set of letters to fit in place of the question mark. So, the third and fourth set of letters
will also have same relationship.
Examples:
1.Find the missing term : YWZX : USVT : : MKNL : ?
(a) IGGH (b) IGJH (c) IGJJ (d) IGHH
Ans: (b)
Sol: Alphabets are used in reverse order. In the first term, the order of alphabet is 2, 4, 1 and 3
and in the second term, the order is 6, 8, 5 and 7. So, the missing term is IGJH.
2. ? : I K M O : : Q S U W : YA C E
(a) ACEG (b) ADEG (c) ACDG (d) ADDG
Ans: (a)
Sol. In each group, one letter is skipped between every two consecutive letters. So, the missing
term will be ACEG.
Word Analogies
In word analogy questions there is a certain relationship between the two given words on one
side of ‟ : : ‟ and one word is given on the other side. Students are asked to find the correct
alternative that has same relationship with that word.

3. Examples
1 .Sailor : Ship : : Lawyer : ?
(a) Legal (b) Law (c) Court (d) Ruling
Ans: (c)
Sol. „Sailor‟ works at „Ship‟, similarly „Lawyer‟ works at „Court‟.
2. Love : Hate : : Create : ?
(a) Make (b) Renovate (c) Destroy (d) Building
Ans: (c)
Sol. „Hate‟ is just opposite of „Love‟. Similarly, „Destroy‟ is just opposite of „Create‟.