Follow the chain, change the viewpoint
A long clue is only short links in a row. In this lesson you read a chain one link at a time from the person it starts with, and you turn a relation around (what is Y to X?) without guessing anyone's gender.
Guess first
One chain, three links. Follow it before you read any method.
Kabir is the son of Rohan's mother's brother. How is Kabir related to Rohan?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
Start at Rohan and take the links in order: Rohan's mother, then her brother, then his son. Up one floor, across, down one floor: Kabir is on Rohan's floor but has different parents, so he is a cousin. In Hindi, a mother's brother's son is ममेरा भाई.
Option A: This stops one link early. The mother's brother is the maternal uncle (मामा); Kabir is his son.
Option B: Kabir is on Rohan's floor, but they do not share parents. The same generation is not the same as a sibling.
Option D: The chain begins with Rohan's mother, so this cousin is on the mother's side (ममेरा), not the father's (चचेरा).
Hint: Write the chain as arrows from Rohan: mother, then her brother, then his son.
You did not need a list of rules. You walked three links from Rohan. This lesson makes that walk exact.
A chain is an address
A chain of relations reads like directions to a house: start at one door and take one turn at a time.
Your own door the starting person
the person the chain belongs to
One turn one link
each "'s" or "of" moves you one step
The last door the person asked about
name them as seen from the start
The way back the reverse relation
the same road, but you name the other end
A chain belongs to the person at its start. In "the son of Rohan's mother's brother", the start is Rohan. Read the links in order: mother (up), brother (across), son (down). Count the floors as you go: up 1, across 0, down 1 brings you back to Rohan's floor.
See it: one chain, step by step
Kabir is the son of Rohan's mother's brother:
- Start at Rohan. Rohan is on floor 0.
- "Rohan's mother": one floor up (+1), on the mother's side.
- "mother's brother": on her floor, beside her. He is Rohan's maternal uncle (मामा).
- "brother's son": one floor down, back to floor 0. That is Kabir.
- Name Kabir as seen from Rohan: same floor, different parents, reached through the mother's brother. A cousin: ममेरा भाई.
flowchart TD G["Grandparents, mother's side"] --> M["Rohan's mother"] G --> U["Her brother: मामा"] M --> R["Rohan"] U --> K["Kabir: ममेरा भाई"]
The same picture in words: the grandparents on the mother's side have two children, Rohan's mother and her brother. Rohan is the mother's child; Kabir is the brother's son. Rohan and Kabir share a floor, not parents.
Hindi names every cousin by the parent's sibling in the middle:
| The parent's sibling | Their son / daughter |
|---|---|
| father's brother (चाचा or ताऊ) | चचेरा भाई / चचेरी बहन |
| father's sister (बुआ) | फुफेरा भाई / फुफेरी बहन |
| mother's brother (मामा) | ममेरा भाई / ममेरी बहन |
| mother's sister (मौसी) | मौसेरा भाई / मौसेरी बहन |
Try it on paper. Write one of your own cousins as a chain that starts with you ("my father's sister's daughter"), then draw it on three floors.
Turn it around
Sometimes the question runs the other way. If Ajit is Pooja's maternal uncle, what is Pooja to Ajit? Walk the same road backwards and name the person now at the far end. The floor count flips sign (+1 becomes −1), and the word changes.
| If A is B's ... | then B is A's ... |
|---|---|
| father or mother | son or daughter |
| paternal uncle (चाचा/ताऊ) or paternal aunt (बुआ) | brother's child: भतीजा (boy) or भतीजी (girl) |
| maternal uncle (मामा) or maternal aunt (मौसी) | sister's child: भांजा (boy) or भांजी (girl) |
| paternal grandparent (दादा, दादी) | son's child: पोता or पोती |
| maternal grandparent (नाना, नानी) | daughter's child: नाती or नातिन |
बुआ is the father's sister, so for her the child is a brother's child: भतीजा or भतीजी. मौसी is the mother's sister, so for her the child is a sister's child: भांजा or भांजी. The Hindi word follows the sibling in the middle.
Find the rule
Ajit is Pooja's maternal uncle. Pooja is a girl. How is Pooja related to Ajit?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
Ajit is Pooja's mother's brother. Walk back from Ajit: his sister is Pooja's mother, and Pooja is her daughter. A sister's daughter is भांजी.
Option A: भतीजी is a brother's daughter. The sibling between Ajit and Pooja is her mother, Ajit's sister.
Option C: "Maternal uncle" is Ajit's relation to Pooja. The question asks the reverse.
Option D: This drops the first link back. Pooja is Ajit's sister's daughter, not his own.
Hint: Who stands between Ajit and Pooja: his brother or his sister?
Ajit is Ashu's maternal uncle. No word gives Ashu's gender. How is Ashu related to Ajit?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
Walk back from Ajit: his sister is Ashu's mother, and Ashu is her child. That much is certain. "Nephew" (भांजा) or "niece" (भांजी) would need Ashu's gender, so "sister's child" is the exact answer.
Option A: "Nephew" says Ashu is a boy. No word gives Ashu's gender.
Option C: "Maternal uncle" is Ajit's relation to Ashu: the forward question, not the reverse.
Option D: The relation is known: Ashu is the child of Ajit's sister. Only the gender word is missing, and "sister's child" does not need it.
Hint: Say what is certain first; add a gender only if a word gives it.
Sunil is the son of Rekha's father's sister. How is Sunil related to Rekha?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
Start at Rekha: her father, his sister (बुआ), her son. Back on Rekha's floor with different parents: a cousin, फुफेरा भाई.
Option A: This stops one link early. The father's sister is the paternal aunt; Sunil is her son.
Option C: The chain starts with Rekha's father, so the cousin is on the father's side.
Option D: Sunil is on Rekha's floor but has different parents. He is a cousin, not a brother.
Hint: Three links from Rekha: father, his sister, her son.
Name the rule
Anchor, links, name.
- Anchor: start with the person the chain belongs to ("Rohan's ..."). For "How is X related to Y?", start at Y.
- Links: one step per relation word: up for a parent, across for a sibling, down for a child. Count the floors.
- Name: name the last person as seen from the start.
To reverse, walk the same links back and name the other end. The floor count flips sign, and the word now needs the gender of the person you are naming.
"Ajit is Pooja's maternal uncle" gives Ajit's gender: an uncle is a man. The reverse word describes Pooja (भांजा or भांजी), and only Pooja's own gender decides it. When no word gives it, say "sister's child".
Worked, half-done, solo
Question
Meena is the daughter of Suresh's father's brother. How is Meena related to Suresh?
Solution
- Start at Suresh, who owns the chain
Suresh's father: one floor up, father's side.
- Go across to the father's brother
He is Suresh's paternal uncle (चाचा or ताऊ).
- Go down to his daughter
Meena: back on Suresh's floor, with different parents.
Answer: Meena is Suresh's cousin, his father's brother's daughter (चचेरी बहन).
Watch out: The same floor does not make her a sister. Meena's parents are not Suresh's parents.
Now finish one that is half done.
Yash is the son of Lata's mother's sister. From Lata: up to her mother, across to the mother's sister (मौसी), down to her son Yash. So Yash is Lata's ...
Show answer
Correct answer: A
The mother's sister's son is a cousin on the mother's side: मौसेरा भाई.
Option B: ममेरा भाई is the mother's brother's son. The person in the middle here is the mother's sister.
Option C: This stops one link early. The mother's sister is the maternal aunt; Yash is her son.
Option D: Yash is on Lata's floor but has different parents, so he is a cousin.
Hint: The middle person is the mother's sister. Which Hindi cousin word goes with मौसी?
And one on your own, the other way round.
Gauri is Harsh's paternal aunt (बुआ). Harsh is a boy. How is Harsh related to Gauri?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
Gauri is Harsh's father's sister. Walk back from Gauri: her brother is Harsh's father, and Harsh is his son. A brother's son is भतीजा.
Option A: भांजा is a sister's son. Between Gauri and Harsh stands Gauri's brother, Harsh's father.
Option C: "Paternal aunt" is Gauri's relation to Harsh. The question asks the reverse.
Option D: This drops the link through Harsh's father. Harsh is Gauri's brother's son.
Hint: Who is the sibling in the middle: Gauri's brother or her sister?
The traps
- Wrong start: reading the chain from the last person instead of its owner.
- Stopping early: naming the uncle when the chain goes on to his son.
- Cousin as sibling: the same floor with different parents is a cousin.
- Copying the word when reversing: if A is B's मामा, B is A's भांजा or भांजी, never A's मामा.
- Guessing the reverse gender: "nephew" needs a boy. Without a gender word, say "sister's child" or "brother's child".
Divya solved this: "Anu is the daughter of Ravi's mother's brother. So Anu is Ravi's sister." What went wrong?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
From Ravi: mother, her brother, his daughter Anu. Anu is on Ravi's floor, but her parents are Ravi's maternal uncle and his wife. She is Ravi's cousin (ममेरी बहन), not his sister.
Option A: Reading from Anu would describe Ravi, not Anu. The start was right; the last step was named wrongly.
Option C: Divya's answer does not choose a side at all: "sister" ignores the uncle in the middle.
Option D: A sister shares Ravi's parents. Anu does not.
Hint: Do Anu and Ravi have the same parents?
Mixed check
Prem is Kusum's father. Kusum is Rajat's mother, and Rajat is her son. How is Rajat related to Prem?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
Start at Prem: his daughter Kusum, then her son Rajat. Two floors down through a daughter: नाती.
Option A: पोता is a son's son. The line from Prem goes through his daughter Kusum.
Option C: Rajat is two floors below Prem. "Son" skips Kusum.
Option D: Maternal grandfather (नाना) is Prem's relation to Rajat: the reverse question.
Hint: Lesson 1 again: going down, is the first child a son or a daughter?
Nitin is the son of Asha's brother. Asha is a woman. How is Asha related to Nitin?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Walk from Nitin: his father is Asha's brother, and Asha is that brother's sister. The father's sister is the paternal aunt (बुआ).
Option B: A maternal aunt (मौसी) is the mother's sister. The sibling in the middle is Nitin's father.
Option C: "Brother's son" (भतीजा) is Nitin's relation to Asha: the reverse question.
Option D: This drops the link through Nitin's father. Asha is his father's sister, one floor above him.
Hint: Start at Nitin. Is the middle person his father or his mother?
Quick reference
Chains and the way back
- Start
- the owner of the chain ("Rohan's ...") for "How is X related to Y?", start at Y
- One link per word
- parent up, sibling across, child down count the floors as you go
- Same floor
- a sibling only with the same parents otherwise a cousin: चचेरा, फुफेरा, ममेरा, मौसेरा
- Reverse
- the same links, walked back name the other end with its own gender
- Uncle or aunt, reversed
- चाचा, ताऊ, बुआ: भतीजा or भतीजी मामा, मौसी: भांजा or भांजी
- Grandparent, reversed
- दादा, दादी: पोता or पोती नाना, नानी: नाती or नातिन
Why it works: a relation is one road between two people. Read it from the right end, and when you turn around, name the person now at the far end, with that person's own gender.
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