Alphabet Test Questions for SSC: The Short Answer
Alphabet test questions ask for a letter at a given position ("8th to the left of the 22nd letter from the left"), the letter midway between two letters, letter pairs in a word, or the order of words in a dictionary. Two facts solve most of them: learn the position of every letter (A = 1 to Z = 26) and remember that position from the right = 27 − position from the left.
Key takeaway for SSC: Convert every letter to a number first, do the counting with numbers, and convert back only at the end. Going right adds, going left subtracts. Every answer on this page was computed with a program.
These questions are quick marks in the reasoning section of SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSC MTS, SSC GD and SSC CPO. They also make coding decoding tricks for SSC CGL much faster, because letter shifts are the same counting.
English Alphabet Positions (Left and Right)
| Letter | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From left | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| From right | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 |
| Letter | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From left | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| From right | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
EJOTY trick for letter positions
E = 5, J = 10, O = 15, T = 20, Y = 25. From these five anchors you can reach any letter in one or two steps: R is two before T, so R = 18.
Opposite letters (pairs that add up to 27)
| A–Z | B–Y | C–X | D–W | E–V | F–U | G–T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H–S | I–R | J–Q | K–P | L–O | M–N |
Memory aids: "HoSpital" (H–S), "IR" (Indian Railways), "LOve" (L–O), "MaN" (M–N).
Alphabet Position Rules (Formulas)
| Question | Rule |
|---|---|
| k-th letter from the right | Letter number 27 − k |
| m-th to the right of the k-th from the left | Letter number k + m |
| m-th to the left of the k-th from the left | Letter number k − m |
| Letter midway between two letters | (position 1 + position 2) ÷ 2 |
| Opposite letter | 27 − position |
Alphabet Test Questions with Solutions (Solved Examples)
Example 1: Counting from the left
Which letter is 8th to the left of the 22nd letter from the left end?
22nd from the left = V. 8th to its left = 22 − 8 = 14 → N.
Example 2: Counting from the right end
Which letter is 7th to the right of the 19th letter from the right end?
19th from the right = 27 − 19 = 8 → H. 7th to the right = 8 + 7 = 15 → O.
Example 3: Letter midway between two letters
Which letter is exactly midway between G and Q?
(7 + 17) ÷ 2 = 12 → L.
Example 4: Half of the alphabet reversed
If the first half of the English alphabet is written in reverse order, which letter will be 4th to the right of the 10th letter from the left?
New order: M L K J I H G F E D C B A N O P ... Z. The 10th letter is D, and the 4th letter to its right is the 14th place, which is N (the second half is unchanged).
Example 5: Letter pairs in a word
How many pairs of letters in the word PLANETS have as many letters between them in the word as in the English alphabet?
Check every pair, both forwards and backwards: LN (L _ N in the word, L M N in the alphabet) and TS (adjacent in both). Answer: 2. Other words for practice: MONKEY has 1 pair (ON), GARDEN has 2 (GD, DE), FIGHTER has 3 (IE, GH, TR).
Dictionary Order Questions for SSC
In a dictionary, words are compared letter by letter from the left. The first letter that differs decides the order. If one word is the start of another (Plan, Plane, Planet), the shorter word comes first.
Example 6: Words with the same first three letters
Arrange in dictionary order: Station, Statue, Stable, Stamp, Staple.
Compare the 4th letter: Stable, Stamp, Staple, Station, Statue. Station and Statue share "Stat", so compare the 5th letter: i comes before u. Order: Stable, Stamp, Staple, Station, Statue.
Example 7: Prefix words
Arrange in dictionary order: Plan, Plane, Planet, Plank, Plain.
Plain comes first (i before n). Then Plan, Plane, Planet (each is the start of the next), and finally Plank (k comes after e in "Plane"). Order: Plain, Plan, Plane, Planet, Plank.
Example 8: Which word comes third?
Which word comes third in dictionary order: Bright, Bride, Brick, Brief, Bridge?
Order: Brick, Bride, Bridge, Brief, Bright. Third word: Bridge.
How to Solve Alphabet Test Questions Fast
- Write EJOTY in the margin before the reasoning section starts.
- Convert every "from the right" position with 27 − k at once.
- Do all counting with numbers; convert back to a letter only at the end.
- For letter pairs, check each letter against the letters after it, forwards and backwards.
- For dictionary order, underline the first letter where the words differ.
Common Mistakes in Alphabet Test Questions
- Using 26 − k instead of 27 − k for positions from the right.
- Counting the starting letter itself when moving "m-th to the right".
- In letter-pair questions, checking only forward pairs (TS in PLANETS is a backward pair).
- In dictionary order, putting Planet before Plane: the shorter word always comes first.
- Forgetting that the half-reversed alphabet changes only the half that was reversed.
Quick Revision Table: Alphabet and Dictionary Tricks
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| Position anchors | E 5, J 10, O 15, T 20, Y 25 |
| From the right | 27 − k |
| Opposite letter | Letter pairs adding to 27 |
| Midway letter | Average of the two positions |
| Dictionary order | First differing letter decides |
| Prefix words | Shorter word first |
Alphabet Test Practice Questions with Answers
- Which letter is 5th to the right of the 16th letter from the right end? Answer: P. 27 − 16 = 11, and 11 + 5 = 16 → P.
- Which letter is 3rd to the left of the letter exactly midway between D and N? Answer: F. Midway = (4 + 14) ÷ 2 = 9 (I), and 9 − 3 = 6 → F.
- What are the opposite letters of K and T? Answer: P and G. 27 − 11 = 16 (P) and 27 − 20 = 7 (G).
- Which letter is 9th to the right of the 12th letter from the left? Answer: U. 12 + 9 = 21 → U.
- If every letter of GREAT is replaced by its opposite letter, what is the code? Answer: TIVZG.
- What is the sum of the positions of the letters in BOOK? Answer: 43. 2 + 15 + 15 + 11 = 43.
- Which word comes first in dictionary order: Gather, Gauge, Gallery, Gamble, Gadget? Answer: Gadget. Order: Gadget, Gallery, Gamble, Gather, Gauge.
For timed practice, take the SSC CGL Dictionary Order Mock Test 02 and the SSC MTS Alphabet Series Mock Test 02.
Alphabet Test FAQs
What is the EJOTY trick?
It is a memory aid for letter positions: E = 5, J = 10, O = 15, T = 20 and Y = 25. Any other letter is one or two steps from one of these anchors.
How do you find a letter's position from the right end?
Subtract its position from the left from 27. For example, the 19th letter from the right is the 8th from the left, which is H.
How are words arranged in dictionary order?
Compare the words letter by letter from the left. The first letter that differs decides the order, and if one word is the beginning of another, the shorter word comes first.
Which SSC exams ask alphabet test questions?
Alphabet test and dictionary order questions appear in the reasoning sections of SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSC MTS, SSC GD and SSC CPO.
Practice Next
- Topic tests: SSC CGL Dictionary Order Mock Test 01, SSC CGL Dictionary Order Mock Test 02, SSC MTS Alphabet Series Mock Test 02 and SSC GD Alphabet Series Mock Test 01.
- Related notes: coding decoding tricks for SSC CGL, odd one out classification questions for SSC CGL and mathematical operations questions for SSC CGL.
- Browse all study notes.