Read the clue, build the family
Every blood-relation question is a few short clues about one family. In this lesson you turn each clue into one link on a family map, and then read the answer off the map, one step at a time.
Guess first
Before any rule, try this one. Use only your common sense.
A wedding photo has this caption: "Meera is Arjun's mother. Arjun is Tanya's father." How is Meera related to Tanya?
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Correct answer: B
Stand at Tanya. Tanya's father is Arjun, and Arjun's mother is Meera. So Meera is Tanya's father's mother: her paternal grandmother (दादी). Tanya's own gender does not change this word.
Option A: Meera is Arjun's mother, and Arjun is one generation above Tanya. "Mother" skips the generation in between.
Option C: The path from Tanya goes through her father Arjun, so this grandmother is on the father's side. A maternal grandmother (नानी) is the mother's mother.
Option D: Both links and Meera's gender are given. Tanya's gender is not needed, so the answer is fixed.
Hint: Count the steps up from Tanya: first to Arjun, then to Meera.
If you chose B, you have already used the whole method in your head. The rest of this lesson puts that method on paper, so that it still works when the clues get long.
Four links make every family map
Every relation word is one of only four kinds of link. Think of a family as a building in which each generation lives on its own floor.
A family is a building: each generation has its own floor.
One floor up father, mother
one generation above
One floor down son, daughter
one generation below
Next door, same floor brother, sister
same parents, same generation
Same flat husband, wife
married, same generation
A relation word always describes the first person in the sentence. "Raj is Aman's father" puts Raj one floor above Aman and tells you that Raj is a man. It tells you nothing about Aman's gender.
| Clue | Link on the map | Whose gender it gives |
|---|---|---|
| A is B's father / mother | A one floor above B | A's only |
| A is B's son / daughter | A one floor below B | A's only |
| A is B's brother / sister | A beside B, same parents | A's only |
| A is B's husband / wife | A = B, same floor | both (a husband's partner is his wife) |
Names are only labels. "Aman" or "Neha" does not tell you a gender. Take gender only from relation words and from words such as he, she, man or woman.
See it: one clue at a time
Here is one family in five clues. Read each clue, then see how it is drawn.
Five clues, one family map:
- Kamla is Vijay's wife. Write "Vijay = Kamla" on the top floor.
- Raj is the son of Kamla and Vijay. Put Raj one floor below the couple. Raj is male.
- Sunita is the daughter of Kamla and Vijay. Put Sunita beside Raj. They have the same parents, so they are brother and sister.
- Raj is Aman's father. Put Aman one floor below Raj. Aman's gender is not given.
- Sunita is Neha's mother. Put Neha one floor below Sunita. Neha's gender is not given.
flowchart TD G["Vijay (male) = Kamla (female)"] --> R["Raj (male)"] G --> S["Sunita (female)"] R --> A["Aman"] S --> N["Neha"]
The same map in words: on the top floor, Vijay and Kamla are married. One floor down are their son Raj and their daughter Sunita. On the bottom floor are Aman (Raj's child) and Neha (Sunita's child). Aman and Neha share a floor, but not their parents.
Try it on paper. Draw your own family on three floors: grandparents, parents, you. Put your father's side on the left and your mother's side on the right. You will need the two sides in a minute.
Find the rule
Three quick questions. Each one shows a rule before we name it.
Raj is Aman's father. Which of these does this clue NOT tell you?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
The word "father" describes Raj: he is a man, and he is Aman's parent. No word describes Aman's gender, so "Aman is a boy" is not given.
Option A: "Father" is used only for a man, so Raj is certainly a man.
Option C: A father is one of the two parents, so this is certain.
Option D: If Raj is Aman's parent, Aman is Raj's child. This is certain.
Hint: Ask which person the word "father" describes.
Raj is Aman's father. How is Aman related to Raj?
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Correct answer: D
The question asks what Aman is as seen from Raj. Stand at Raj and go one floor down: Aman is Raj's child. No word gives Aman's gender, so "child" is all we can say.
Option A: "Father" is Raj's relation to Aman. It answers the reverse question.
Option B: "Son" needs Aman to be male, and no word says so.
Option C: Aman is one floor below Raj, not two.
Hint: Stand at the person after "related to", then walk to the other person.
Kamla is Aman's paternal grandmother (दादी), because Aman's father Raj is her son. In the same family, how is Kamla related to Neha?
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Correct answer: B
Stand at Neha. Neha's mother is Sunita, and Sunita's mother is Kamla. The first step goes through Neha's mother, so Kamla is Neha's maternal grandmother (नानी). The same woman is दादी to Aman and नानी to Neha.
Option A: For Neha the path starts through the mother, not the father, so the side changes.
Option C: Kamla is two floors above Neha. "Mother" skips Sunita.
Option D: "Daughter's child" is what Neha is to Kamla. It answers the reverse question.
Hint: From Neha to Kamla, does the path go through the father or the mother?
Name the rule
To answer "How is X related to Y?", stand at Y and walk the links one by one until you reach X. Then name X the way Y would:
- Floors give the generation: each father or mother is one floor up, each son or daughter one floor down.
- The first step gives the side: through the father is the paternal side, through the mother the maternal side.
- X's own gender chooses the word: grandfather or grandmother, uncle or aunt.
Because the answer is the word Y uses for X. For Aman, Kamla is "paternal grandmother"; for Kamla, Aman is "son's child". Start at the wrong person and you answer the reverse question.
| Floor | Father's side (paternal) | Mother's side (maternal) |
|---|---|---|
| +2 | grandfather दादा, grandmother दादी | grandfather नाना, grandmother नानी |
| +1 | father; his brother चाचा or ताऊ, his sister बुआ | mother; her brother मामा, her sister मौसी |
Going down, the line matters too: a son's children are पोता and पोती, a daughter's children are नाती and नातिन.
Worked, half-done, solo
Question
Mohan is Gita's brother. Gita is Pinky's mother. How is Mohan related to Pinky?
Solution
- Stand at Pinky, the person after "related to"
Pinky's mother is Gita: one floor up, through the mother.
- Take the next link
Gita's brother is Mohan: on Gita's floor, beside her.
- Name Mohan the way Pinky would
Mother's brother, a man, one floor up: maternal uncle.
Answer: Mohan is Pinky's maternal uncle (मामा).
Watch out: The path goes through Pinky's mother, so he is not चाचा (the father's brother).
Now finish one that is half done.
Asha is Ramesh's sister. Ramesh is Kavya's father. Stand at Kavya: Kavya's father is Ramesh (one floor up, father's side). Ramesh's sister is Asha. So Asha is Kavya's ...
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Correct answer: A
The father's sister, one floor up on the father's side, is the paternal aunt (बुआ).
Option B: A maternal aunt (मौसी) is the mother's sister. Here the path goes through Kavya's father.
Option C: This drops the first step from Kavya to the father. Asha is Ramesh's sister, not Kavya's.
Option D: "Brother's child" is what Kavya is to Asha. It answers the reverse question.
Hint: What is the father's sister called in Hindi?
And one on your own.
Dinesh is Lata's father. Lata is Rohit's mother, and Rohit is her son. How is Dinesh related to Rohit?
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Correct answer: C
Stand at Rohit. Rohit's mother is Lata, and her father is Dinesh. The mother's father, two floors up, is the maternal grandfather (नाना).
Option A: A paternal grandfather (दादा) is the father's father. Rohit reaches Dinesh through his mother.
Option B: Dinesh is two floors above Rohit. "Father" skips Lata.
Option D: Grandson (नाती) is what Rohit is to Dinesh. It answers the reverse question.
Hint: Two links up from Rohit. Which parent comes first?
The traps
- Wrong start: starting at X instead of Y answers the reverse question (grandson instead of grandfather).
- Skipped floor: two "up" links are two generations. A father's mother is not a mother.
- Wrong side: the first step from Y decides whether the relative is paternal or maternal.
- Gender from a name: names are labels. Only relation words, and words like he or she, give a gender.
- Gender of the wrong person: "A is B's father" gives A's gender, never B's.
Pooja solved this: "Usha is Vikram's mother. Vikram is Rani's father. So Usha is Rani's maternal grandmother." What went wrong?
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Correct answer: C
Start from Rani: her father is Vikram, and his mother is Usha. Two floors up through the father gives paternal grandmother (दादी), not maternal.
Option A: Starting from Usha would give Rani's place ("son's child"), not a grandmother. The start was right.
Option B: "Grandmother" already counts two generations. The count was right.
Option D: The side is wrong: Rani's path goes through her father Vikram.
Hint: Which of Rani's parents is on the path?
Mixed check
Arun is Kunal's son. Seema is Arun's daughter. How is Seema related to Kunal?
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Correct answer: B
Stand at Kunal. Kunal's son is Arun, and Arun's daughter is Seema: two floors down through the son. In Hindi she is Kunal's पोती.
Option A: Seema is two floors below Kunal. "Daughter" skips Arun.
Option C: The path goes through Kunal's son Arun, not a daughter: पोती, not नातिन.
Option D: Great-granddaughter is three floors down. Only two links separate Kunal and Seema.
Hint: Going down, check whose child comes first: a son or a daughter?
Ajay is Bina's brother. Bina is Chetan's mother. Which statement is certain?
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Correct answer: A
Start from Ajay: his sister is Bina, and her child is Chetan. That is certain. Chetan's gender is not given, so "nephew" (a boy) is not certain.
Option B: "Nephew" says Chetan is a boy, and no word gives Chetan's gender.
Option C: Ajay is the brother of Chetan's mother: maternal uncle (मामा), not paternal.
Option D: This drops the first link. Ajay is Bina's brother, one floor above Chetan.
Hint: Separate what is given from what only sounds likely.
Quick reference
Read and map
- Father, mother
- one floor up "A is B's father": A is a man; B's gender is not given
- Son, daughter
- one floor down "A is B's son": A is a man
- Brother, sister
- same floor, same parents "A is B's sister": A is a woman
- Husband, wife
- same floor, married (=) write them side by side
- Start
- stand at the person after "related to" walk to the person asked about
- Side
- the first step decides it through the father: दादा, दादी, चाचा or ताऊ, बुआ; through the mother: नाना, नानी, मामा, मौसी
Why it works: each relation word is exactly one link. Floors give the generation, the first step gives the side, and the last person's gender gives the word.
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