How to Solve Blood Relation Questions in SSC CGL
To solve blood relation questions in SSC CGL, start from the last person mentioned, move one relation at a time towards the speaker, and draw a small family tree with + for male and − for female. For example, in "He is the son of my grandfather's only son", the grandfather's only son is the speaker's father, so the man is the speaker's brother.
Key takeaway: Break the sentence at every "of", solve from the end, and mark gender only when the words say it ("son", "sister", "husband"). Names and words like "child" or "sibling" do not reveal gender, so if the answer depends on an unknown gender, the right option is "cannot be determined" or a gender-free term like "grandparent".
SSC CGL Tier 1 usually has one or two blood relation questions, and coded ("A + B means A is the father of B") versions have become regular since 2022. Each answer below was traced on a family tree twice.
Blood Relation Chart for SSC CGL (Common Relations)
| Description | Relation |
|---|---|
| Father's or mother's father | Grandfather |
| Father's brother | Uncle (paternal; chacha or tau) |
| Mother's brother | Uncle (maternal; mama) |
| Father's sister's husband | Uncle (phupha) |
| Mother's sister | Aunt (mausi) |
| Uncle's or aunt's child | Cousin |
| Brother's or sister's son | Nephew |
| Brother's or sister's daughter | Niece |
| Husband's or wife's brother | Brother-in-law |
| Sister's husband | Brother-in-law |
| Brother's wife | Sister-in-law |
| Son's wife | Daughter-in-law |
| Daughter's husband | Son-in-law |
| Husband's or wife's father | Father-in-law |
| Grandfather's only son | Father |
| Mother's only daughter (said by a woman) | Herself |
Family Tree Symbols for Blood Relation Questions
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| + (or a square) | Male |
| − (or a circle) | Female |
| Vertical line | Parent and child (one generation down) |
| Horizontal line | Siblings (same generation) |
| Double line or = | Married couple |
| ? next to a name | Gender not known |
Drawing the tree takes 10 seconds and prevents almost every mistake. The same "place people on a diagram" habit helps in circular seating arrangement tricks.
Types of Blood Relation Questions in SSC CGL
- Pointing or introducing ("Pointing to a man, Riya said ...").
- Direct statements ("A is B's brother. B is C's son ...").
- Coded relations (symbols such as +, −, ×, ÷ stand for relations).
- Family puzzles (six or eight members with professions or couples).
Pointing Type Blood Relation Questions (Solved)
Q1. Pointing to a man, Riya said, "He is the son of my grandfather's only son." How is the man related to Riya? Grandfather's only son = Riya's father. His son = Riya's brother.
Q2. Pointing to a girl, Aman said, "Her mother is the only daughter of my mother." How is the girl related to Aman? Only daughter of Aman's mother = Aman's sister. Her daughter = Aman's niece.
Q3. Introducing a boy, a woman said, "He is the son of the only daughter of the father of my brother." How is the boy related to the woman? Father of my brother = my father. His only daughter = me (the speaker is a woman). So the boy is her son. This "only daughter" trap is common in SSC papers.
Q4. Pointing to a photograph, Vikram said, "Her mother's husband's only son is my son." How is the girl in the photograph related to Vikram? Her mother's husband = her father. His only son = her brother, who is Vikram's son. So she is Vikram's daughter.
Statement Type Blood Relation Questions (Solved)
Q5. A is B's brother. B is C's son. D is C's wife. E is D's sister. How is A related to E? A and B are children of C and D. E is D's sister, so A is E's nephew.
Q6. P is the father of Q. Q is the sister of R. R is the husband of S. How is S related to P? R is P's son (R is a husband, so male). S is R's wife, so S is P's daughter-in-law.
Q7. A's mother is the sister of B and the daughter of C. D is the daughter of B and the sister of E. How is C related to E? B is C's child, and E is B's child, so C is E's grandparent. C's gender is not given, so "grandfather" or "grandmother" alone cannot be chosen.
Coded Blood Relation Questions for SSC CGL (Solved)
Use this code for Q8 and Q9: A + B means A is the father of B; A − B means A is the wife of B; A × B means A is the brother of B; A ÷ B means A is the daughter of B.
Q8. In P ÷ Q − R × S, how is P related to S? P is the daughter of Q. Q is the wife of R, so R is P's father. R is the brother of S. So P is S's niece.
Q9. Which expression means "M is the grandfather of T"? (a) M × N + T (b) M + N + T (c) M + N − T (d) M ÷ N + T (a) M is the uncle of T. (b) M is the father of N, who is the father of T: grandfather. Answer (b). (c) M is the father-in-law of T. (d) M is T's sister.
Method for coded questions: decode each symbol into words, write the chain left to right, then draw the tree. Never skip writing it down; one misread symbol flips the answer.
Second Coded Pattern (New SSC Style)
SSC also uses other symbol sets. Use this code for Q11 and Q12: P @ Q means P is the mother of Q; P # Q means P is the son of Q; P % Q means P is the husband of Q; P & Q means P is the sister of Q.
Q11. In A & B @ C % D, how is A related to C? A is B's sister. B is C's mother. So A is C's mother's sister, that is C's aunt (mausi). (C is D's husband, which is extra information.)
Q12. In M # N & O, how is M related to O? M is the son of N, and N is the sister of O. So O is M's mother's sibling, and M is O's nephew.
Family Puzzle Blood Relation Question (Solved)
Q10. A family of six, P, Q, R, S, T and U, has two married couples. Q is a doctor and the father of T. U is the grandfather of R and is a lawyer. S is the grandmother of T and is a housewife. There is one doctor, one lawyer, one housewife, one engineer and two students.
- U and S are the grandparents, so they are one couple.
- Q is T's father, so Q and P are the other couple, and T and R are the grandchildren (the two students).
- The only job left is engineer, so P is the engineer, and P's husband is Q.
Blood Relation Tricks for SSC CGL
- Solve from the end of the sentence and replace each phrase with one word ("my grandfather's only son" → "my father").
- "Only son" or "only daughter" often points back to the speaker or the speaker's parent (Q1, Q3).
- Mark gender only from words like son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister.
- Count generations: grandparent (+2), parent (+1), sibling or cousin (0), child (−1), grandchild (−2).
- In coded questions, write the decoded sentence before you draw.
- If gender is missing, prefer options like "grandparent", "sibling" or "cannot be determined".
Common Mistakes in Blood Relation Questions
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Assuming a name's gender | Gender comes only from relation words |
| Treating "cousin" and "brother" as the same | Uncle's or aunt's child is a cousin |
| Missing "only" in "only son" | It usually identifies a single fixed person |
| Reading a code right to left | Codes are read left to right in pairs |
| Choosing "father-in-law" for a husband's uncle | In-law terms apply only to the spouse's parents and siblings |
Blood Relation Practice Questions for SSC CGL (with Answers)
- A man says, "He is my father's only son's son." Who is "he" to the man? Answer: his son.
- Who is your mother's only brother? Answer: maternal uncle (mama).
- Who is your father's sister's husband? Answer: uncle (phupha).
- Who is your wife's brother? Answer: brother-in-law.
- Who is your brother's wife? Answer: sister-in-law.
- Using the code above, what is K × L + M? Answer: K is M's paternal uncle (K is L's brother, L is M's father).
- Using the code above, what is J ÷ K − L? Answer: J is L's daughter (K is J's mother and L's wife).
- Pointing to a man, a woman said, "His mother is the only daughter of my mother." How is the man related to her? Answer: son.
- Q is male. R is the son of Q's father's only son. How is Q related to R? Answer: father.
- X is the sister of Y. Y is the son of Z. How is Z related to X? Answer: parent (Z's gender is not given).
Practise more in the SSC CGL General Intelligence and Reasoning Sectional Mock Test 01 and the SSC CHSL General Intelligence Sectional Mock Test 02.
Blood Relation FAQs
How many blood relation questions come in SSC CGL?
Usually one or two in Tier 1 reasoning, sometimes as a coded-symbol question.
What is the best trick for blood relation questions?
Solve from the end of the statement, replace each phrase with a single relation, and draw a family tree with gender marks.
How do you solve coded blood relation questions?
Decode each symbol into words, read the chain from left to right, and place each person on a tree. Then answer the asked pair.
What if gender is not given in a blood relation question?
Choose a gender-free answer (grandparent, sibling, parent) or "cannot be determined" if that option is given.
Are blood relation questions asked in bank exams?
Yes. IBPS and SBI Clerk prelims ask them, often inside puzzles, so the same method works there too.
Practice Next
- New blood relation tests (15 questions each): SSC CHSL Blood Relation Mock Test 03 and SSC GD Blood Relation Mock Test 02.
- Mock tests: SSC CGL General Intelligence and Reasoning Sectional Mock Test 03 and SSC CHSL Coding Decoding Mock Test 01.
- New sectional tests: SSC MTS Reasoning Ability and Problem Solving Sectional Mock Test 01: Session 1 Pattern 2026 (20 Questions) and RRB Group D General Intelligence and Reasoning Sectional Mock Test 01: CBT Pattern 2026 (30 Questions).
- New SSC topic test: SSC CGL Blood Relation Mock Test 01: Pointing and Coded Family Questions (15 Questions).
- More practice: SSC CGL Blood Relation Mock Test 02.
- For SSC CHSL: SSC CHSL Blood Relation Mock Test 01.
- Related notes: calendar odd days trick, mirror image clock formula, coded inequality tricks, circular seating arrangement tricks, data sufficiency questions for bank exams and order and ranking questions for bank exams; also see direction sense questions for SSC CGL, plus analogy questions for SSC CGL, odd one out classification questions, plus blood relation questions for bank exams.
- Exam details: SSC CGL 2026 notification.
- Browse all study notes.