A parent chain across generations
Some clues climb or drop three or four generations. In this lesson you count generations like rungs on a ladder, name great-grandparents and great-grandchildren in English and Hindi, and check every answer with the count.
Guess first
Om is Rajesh's father. Rajesh is Sunil's father. Sunil is the father of a boy, Tushar. How is Om related to Tushar?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Climb from Tushar: his father Sunil (one), Sunil's father Rajesh (two), Rajesh's father Om (three). Three rungs up through fathers: paternal great-grandfather, in Hindi परदादा.
Option B: That stops at Rajesh, two rungs up. Om is one rung higher.
Option C: The climb starts with Tushar's father, so it stays on the father's side.
Option D: Great-grandson (परपोता) is Tushar's relation to Om: the reverse question.
Hint: Count the rungs from Tushar up to Om.
Three links, three rungs. When chains get long, counting is the safest check you have.
A ladder of generations
A family across generations is a ladder: each rung is one generation.
One rung up parent
+1
Two rungs up grandparent
+2: दादा, दादी, नाना, नानी
Three rungs up great-grandparent
+3: परदादा, परदादी, परनाना, परनानी
Rungs down child, grandchild, great-grandchild
−1, −2, −3
Count each "father", "mother" or "parent" as one rung up, each "son", "daughter" or "child" as one rung down, and a brother, sister or spouse as no rung at all. Ups minus downs is the generation gap.
| Rung | Through the father | Through the mother |
|---|---|---|
| +3 | परदादा, परदादी (the दादा's parents) | परनाना, परनानी (the नाना's parents) |
| +2 | दादा, दादी | नाना, नानी |
| −2 | पोता, पोती (son's children) | नाती, नातिन (daughter's children) |
| −3 | परपोता, परपोती (son's son's children) | other lines are said in words, like नाती का बेटा |
In Hindi, "पर" adds one more rung to a grandparent word: परदादा is दादा's father, परनाना is नाना's father, and परपोता is पोता's son.
See it: four generations in one line
flowchart TD O["Om: +3"] --> R["Rajesh: +2"] R --> S["Sunil: +1"] S --> T["Tushar: 0"]
The same line in words, counted from Tushar: Sunil is one rung up (father), Rajesh two (paternal grandfather, दादा), Om three (paternal great-grandfather, परदादा). Read downwards from Om, Tushar is three rungs down: his great-grandson, परपोता.
Name anyone on a long line:
- Fix the starting person (the one after "related to").
- Count the rungs to the other person: ups are plus, downs are minus.
- Take the side from the first rung: through the father or through the mother.
- Pick the word for that rung and side, and the asked person's gender.
Try it on paper. Draw your own family's ladder as far up as you know it. Write the Hindi word for each rung on your father's side and on your mother's side.
Find the rule
Mehul is Tara's father. Tara is Vivek's mother. Vivek is Isha's father. How many generations above Isha is Mehul?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
From Isha: Vivek is one rung up, Tara two, Mehul three. Mehul is three generations above Isha.
Option B: Four is the number of people on the line (Mehul, Tara, Vivek, Isha), not the number of rungs between them.
Option C: This misses one rung: Mehul is above Tara, who is above Vivek.
Option D: Every link is a parent link, so the count is fixed.
Hint: Count the steps between people, not the people.
Amar is the father of Ravi's father's father. Ravi is a boy. Which Hindi word names Amar for Ravi?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Ravi's father's father is his दादा, and Amar is the दादा's father: three rungs up on the father's side, परदादा.
Option B: दादा is Ravi's father's father. Amar is one rung higher.
Option C: परनाना is the mother's grandfather. The climb starts with Ravi's father.
Option D: परपोता (great-grandson) is Ravi's relation to Amar: the reverse question.
Hint: Which word adds one rung to दादा?
Name the rule
Count the rungs, then name.
- Each parent word is one rung up, each child word one rung down; siblings and spouses add no rung.
- The generation gap is ups minus downs.
- The side comes from the first rung from the starting person.
- In Hindi, "पर" adds one rung: परदादा, परनाना, परपोता.
A long chain hides one rung easily. "Great-grandfather" needs exactly three rungs up; if your count says two or four, the name is wrong, however familiar it sounds. The count is a free check.
Worked, half-done, solo
Question
Sanjay is the son of the daughter of Hari's son. How is Sanjay related to Hari?
Solution
- Start at Hari and count the rungs down
Hari's son: −1. His daughter: −2. Her son, Sanjay: −3.
- Read the line
Son, then daughter, then son: through Hari's son, then that son's daughter.
- Name it
Three rungs down: a great-grandson. In Hindi the line is said in words: पोती का बेटा (the son of Hari's पोती).
Answer: Sanjay is Hari's great-grandson (his son's daughter's son).
Watch out: परपोता is a son's son's son. Here the middle person is a daughter, so the Hindi is said as पोती का बेटा.
Now finish one that is half done.
Leela is the mother of Mohan's mother's father. Mohan is a boy. Count from Mohan: mother (+1), her father (+2), his mother (+3). So Leela is Mohan's ...
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Three rungs up, starting through the mother: Mohan's mother's father is his नाना, and Leela is the नाना's mother: maternal great-grandmother, परनानी.
Option B: Maternal grandmother (नानी) is two rungs up. Leela is three.
Option C: The climb starts with Mohan's mother, so it is on the mother's side, not the father's.
Option D: "Son's daughter's son" is Mohan as seen from Leela: the reverse question.
Hint: Which word adds one rung to नाना's generation on the mother's side?
And one on your own.
Kishan is Lalit's father. Lalit is Manav's father. Manav is the father of a girl, Arti. How is Kishan related to Arti?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
From Arti: her father Manav (+1), his father Lalit (+2), his father Kishan (+3). Three rungs up through fathers: परदादा.
Option B: Paternal grandfather (दादा) is Lalit, two rungs up. Kishan is one higher.
Option C: Great-granddaughter (परपोती) is Arti's relation to Kishan: the reverse question.
Option D: The climb starts with Arti's father, so it is the father's side.
Hint: Count from Arti, not from Kishan.
The traps
- Counting people instead of steps: four people on a line are three rungs apart.
- Missing a rung in a long chain: check that the name matches the count.
- Wrong side: the first rung from the starting person decides it, however long the chain.
- Wrong direction: great-grandfather and great-grandson are the same line read from opposite ends.
- "पर" on the wrong word: परदादा is the दादा's father; one rung above नाना is परनाना.
Ram is the father of Gita's mother's father. Sonu said: "Ram is Gita's परदादा." What went wrong?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The climb from Gita starts with her mother, so Ram is on the mother's side: Gita's नाना's father, परनाना. परदादा is on the father's side.
Option B: The count is right: three rungs up.
Option C: The reverse would describe Gita for Ram ("great-granddaughter").
Option D: परदादा is the father's side; Gita's line starts with her mother.
Hint: Through which parent does Gita start climbing?
Mixed check
Pointing to an old man, Ritu said: "He is the father of my mother's brother." How is the old man related to Ritu?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
A brother and sister share their father, so the father of Ritu's mother's brother is also the father of Ritu's mother: her नाना.
Option B: The link runs through Ritu's mother, so he is on the mother's side.
Option C: The maternal uncle is the old man's son, not the old man.
Option D: He is two rungs above Ritu, not one.
Hint: Lesson 4: rewrite the quote with names first.
Pankaj is the son of the brother of Nisha's father's father. How is Pankaj related to Nisha's father?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The question is about Nisha's father, not Nisha. From him: his father, his father's brother, and that brother's son Pankaj. So Pankaj is his cousin, चचेरा भाई.
Option B: This stops one link early: the father's brother is Pankaj's father.
Option C: Pankaj and Nisha's father have different fathers (two brothers), so they are cousins.
Option D: The link runs through the father of Nisha's father, so it is the father's side.
Hint: Lesson 5: whose chair is the question asking you to sit in?
Quick reference
Generations
- Count
- parent word: one rung up; child word: one rung down sibling and spouse: no rung
- Gap
- ups minus downs four people in a line are three rungs apart
- Side
- from the first rung however long the chain
- Hindi
- +3: परदादा, परदादी, परनाना, परनानी −3: परपोता, परपोती (son's line)
- Check
- the name must match the count great-grandparent = exactly three rungs up
Why it works: every relation word moves you exactly one rung or none. Counting rungs turns a long chain into one number you can check the name against.
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